mission 2006
MIT

CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF PRESERVING THE AMAZON (5,9)
(AND WHY THESE METHODS FAIL IN THE LONG RUN):


1. Rainforest Reserves:  This is the most popular and widely-put forward solution to preserving the rainforest.  Making and protecting these reserves are mostly taken up by large private organizations.  However, the rainforest covers a vast area and it is incorrect to believe in the first place that the greater proportion of the genetic diversity of the Amazon rainforest (where the total number of individuals of each species tend to be low, and the variety tends to be great) can be protected by limited areas of reserves.  The diversity of the Amazon makes it inevitable that large-scale projects will lead to the extinction of large numbers of species.  Only by trying to protect the greatest area of the Amazon rainforest can we preserve the gargantual genetic diversity of organisms contained in the tropical rainforest.  In addition to being hopelessly unable to ensure the survival of the Amazon's diversity, the reserve system is widely used as an excuse by mining and timber industries to exploit the unreserved areas.

2. Sustained Yield Forestry:  This is a very "in-mode" term to use in questions regarding logging in the Amazon rainforest.  This basically refers to a system of logging where there is a continual maintenance of a whole ecosystem where logging is done in a fixed area, the area of the rainforest allowed to regrow, and then logged again, resulting in a "sustained yield" in a closed ecosystem.  However, as of yet, there are no examples of sustainable, industrial tropical timber operations in the world.  There are three very important reasons for this:

3.  Displacement of Indigenous Peoples:  Using techniques such as rainforest reserves, the government and different organizations displace indigenous people from their land, failing to recognize their civil rights over their own lands, and disintegrating these indigenous cultures in the process.  It is undoubtedly a fact that any reforestation or preservation technique must include the assistance of indigenous people who have been living in harmony with the Amazon for thousands of centuries.  

4.  The Tropical Forest Action Plan:  TFAP was the first major international attempt aimed at tackling the problems facing the Amazon rainforest.  With billions of dollars and international support, it has failed.  A few of the simple reasons for this include:
5.   The International Biodiversity Program (10):  A "Biodiversity Action Program" pursued by the World Bank, it aims fails to confront the underlying causes of biodiversity loss.