The rainforest is still disappearing at a an alarming rate despite the massive efforts of many to reduce the rate of deforestation. In February, 2008, the Brazilian government announced that the rate of deforestation has increased not slowed down. During the last five months of 2007, more than 1,250 sq. miles,(an area equivalent to the size of the state of Rhode Island), was deforested.
Unfortunately no one involved in the defense of the Amazon can even imagine deforestation being stopped; the only goal is reduce the slaughter of an area with 10% of the world’s carbon stores in our ecosystem. By continuing to remove the natural fauna one is continuing to release excess carbon into the atmosphere which accelerates global warming. Deforestation of the Amazon is also permanently damaging an area where the the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world live. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. The numbers are astounding and they just represent what scientists have named but not what actually exists.
The main source of deforestation of the Amazon are human settlement and development of the land. 91% of the deforested land is used for cattle grazing and the rest is mostly used for farming. This occurs despite what environmentalist C.M. Peters stated in 1989, “One hectare in the Peruvian Amazon has been calculated to have a value of $6820 if intact forest is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber; $1000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested); or $148 if used as cattle pasture.” This valuation is in terms of what the worth is for the Peruvian Citizens, not for the corporations like Asia Pulp and Paper who have brutally deforested the land for years.
Reading through the history of Asia Pulp and Paper is analogous to reading the criminal history of a brutal and maliciously ambitious drug cartel. No outside force has been able to stop their continuous onslaught of the world’s most valuable and essential forests. The company has been involved in illegal logging in Cambodia and Indonesia and hasbroken agreements with 3 major environmental organizations.
According to the Asia Times Online, “Asia Pulp and Paper's business model is a tactically aggressive one: it turns huge profits by quickly stripping forests bare, exploiting age-old forests and indigenous peoples, and leaving town before the environmental consequences are felt. By the time communities and governments lodge complaints and lawsuits, APP has divested itself of local interests and assets.”
They had agreements with Forest Steward Ship Council, the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Rainforest Alliance. All agreements were cancelled by the environmental organizations when APP, Asia Pulp and Paper, did not follow through with the original environmental policies stated in the agreements. It appears that APP was just using these organizations to hide behind. They agreed to change it behaviors but its deforestation of restricted lands was discovered and the agreements were dissolved. Boycotts of APP’s products were called for by various hotel associations. APP threatened with lawsuits but wasn’t aware of the public support for the boycotts. They were caught red-handed with their entire body in the cookie jar and still tried to weasel out of it. Even now on the homepage of their website it reads “Care for Tomorrow, we support actions for economic, social and environmental sustainability”. This situation being similar to members of the last US Administration telling the world that the Iraq war was started to protect our freedom when they originally told us it was to protect us from weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. A bold faced lie.
Unfortunately in today’s amoral political and economic climate many do not care for the truth even if it causes horrific environmental or other types of damage: If it hurts their pocketbook and popularity they will say anything to protect themselves. Even though such maliciously powerful and desperate entities are loose in our world trying to deprive us of our environmental freedom we still have a mighty weapon in our possession that can stop them dead in their tracks: our wallets. If we don’t buy their poison they can’t sell it and if they can’t sell it they will not brutally strip our lands to get it.
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