Sustainable Management of Rainforests
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 2.2.10
What are Strategies to Manage Rainforests Sustainably?
Sustainable means being able to continue behaving in this way forever. Below are some examples of sustainable rainforest management strategies that can be done now & will preserve rainforests for future generations.
Selective logging
- Selective logging involves only cutting down a certain species of tree or trees of a certain age. For example, in the Brazilian Amazon, only very old trees may be logged.
- Selective logging preserves the structure of the rainforest. This reduces soil erosion as there are still trees in the area, with their roots binding the soil and their leaves/canopy protecting the vegetation below.
Conservation and education
- In the USA, logging is banned in Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Zion National Park.
- Education in schools and businesses about the damage from logging, locally and for the whole world could improve the situation.
- Although education could help, economists call this a 'tragedy of the commons' problem. The world bears the cost of deforestation and climate change, but an individual person probably makes more money by continuing to do logging.
Ecotourism
- Ecotourism is tourism that has minimal impact on the environment and that helps support local communities.
- Eco-tourism, like the hotel Hix Island House in Puerto Rico could become a major source of income in the future for countries and local people. It also educates tourists and people internationally about their personal impact on the environment.
Economic development and debt forgiveness
- Lots of nations with rainforest have low per capita incomes. Therefore, they are incentivised to do logging and mining because it brings short-term financial benefits.
- In 2019, the Brazilian President Bolsonaro made this argument.
- NGOs like the World Bank and the United Nations could work together to reduce countries' government debts and try to lower the incentive to exploit natural resources.
- Lots of Germany's reparations debt after World War 1 and World War 2 was eventually forgiven. This could happen to encourage a reduction in deforestation.
International hardwood agreements
- Hardwood is a type of wood.
- Rich people like having teak or mahogany furniture in their houses.
- The 2006 International Tropical Timber Agreement has a hardwood agreement, trying to make any teak or mahogany sold to come from sustainably forested areas.
Replanting
- Replanting means planting new trees to replace those that have been felled.
- Lots of businesses now try to do this to help people offset their carbon footprints.
Test yourself on Sustainable Management of Rainforests
What are the 2 criteria that turn tourism into ecotourism?
What type of tourism has a minimal impact on the environment and helps to support local communities?