A Dream for a Better World

Agriculture, which is the main source of cereals, industrial materials, job opportunities and foreign exchanges, plays an important role in Southeast countries. They have made great achievement in agriculture but large areas of forest have been destroyed. In order to enlarge the area of crops, nearly all southeast countries hew down trees and destroy forest.
Since the Second World War, arable land in all Southeast countries has increased. Though the population has become lager, arable land per capita doesn’t decrease and it even increases in some countries. From the year 1980 to 1996, population in Cambodia increased from 6.4 million to 10.27 million and arable land per capita was up to 0.37 ha from 0.3 ha. The arable land per capita increased to 0.09 ha from 0.07 ha in Malaysia when the population increased from 13.76 million to 21.17 million. Philippine mainly developed agriculture by destroying forest before 1970s and in 1950s, arable land increased by 3.45% on average. In 1960s, the increase was 1.3%. Even Philippine tried to develop agriculture by destroying forest; they still couldn’t get great success because of the low productivity. Thailand also had the same mistake. Arable land increased from 41.4 million ha to 93.245 ha from the year 1950 to 1982 with the rate of 12.3% of national land to 29%. In 1990, arable land increased by 47.4%. Meanwhile, forest area decreased by 37.2% from the year 1951 to 1995.
Forest is a kind of renewable resource but the growth cycle needs some decades or even more than a hundred years. So the speed of growth is far behind that of human destroying. In fact, those countries have been punished by the results of deforestation. Soil has been washed away because of lack of protection from forest. Sediment deposition imposed bad effects on transportation and hydropower so people often can not get enough and stable electricity. Deforestation results in flood, drought and other natural disasters. Cambodia, located in the lower reaches of Mekong River, often suffers from flood if the rainfall is too much. At the end of 2000, terrible flood occurred in the country with 400 people lost and more than 1 billion dollars loss. In 2001, more than 108 people in Vietnam died from flood and the number of homeless people was more than 60,000. Forest decrease has reduced land fertility. In 1980s, 18 million ha land suffered from salinization in northeast part of Thailand and 260 ha land in south part suffered from salinization or acidification. Such phenomenon can be found in other Asian countries. Deforestation, at the same time, has destroyed biodiversity. Tropical rain forest, mangroves, wetlands and animals are on the brink of annihilation. In 1997, endangered birds take 11% in Indonesia, 24% in Philippine, 10% in Vietnam and 9% in Malaysia and Thailand.
In recent years, deforestation has decreased compared with that of before because most countries have realized the terrible result caused by deforestation. In addition, technology development also provides ways to improve productivity. However, deforestation still exists in the world and we have more work to do.

The year 2010 is the year of tiger in Chinese lunar year and all Chinese people hope that they can be more powerful and prestigious. In a word, they wish that the year of tiger can bring good luck to them. When we are celebrating the coming of the year of tiger, we ought to pay more attention to protecting tigers all over the world because the quantity of tigers is dropping day after day.

The hometown of tigers is in China and they live in northeast of Asia at first. Then they move to south and west and now there are 8 subspecies of tigers which are Balinese tiger distributing in Indonesia’s Bali island, Javan tiger in Indonesia’s Java island, Caspian tiger in Turkey and middle and west part of Asia, Sumatran tiger in Sumatra, Siberian tiger in Siberia and northeast part of China, south China tiger in south part of China, Indo-Chinese tiger in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and China and other east parts of Asia, and Panthera tiger in India, Himalaya and other cool places. The first three kinds of tigers have become extinct. And the other 5 types of tigers are also decreasing. So what are the reasons behind it?

Firstly, overhunting and casualties are made by human beings. At the beginning of 20^th century, people engaged hunting more and more with the development of hunting tools and transportation. Some hundreds of tigers were killed every year. In early times, people thought that each part of tiger body can be used for preventing and curing illness even including tiger urine so some illegal trading for tigers increased too fast. In addition, some hunters tend to place hunting sets everywhere in the forest. So once tigers are hurt, they have less chance to survive and sire. Secondly, living environment of tigers is destroyed. Tigers mainly live in primitive forest and secondary forest but a large-scale deforestation by humans damages their tranquil life then they have to scatter in different places. Such separation slows down tigers’ reproduction. And their ability against enemie also becomes weak. Thirdly, preys decrease too many. As we all know, tiger is a kind of predator and they eat other animals. However, many small animals are put into plates for human dinners. So if tigers do not have enough food, how can they survive? Fourthly, direct conflicts between human beings and tigers sometimes occur. When tigers attack people or catch poultry, people may kill them secretly. The number of tigers is not large, especially in northeast part of Asia and when a tiger is killed, maybe the type will be extinct in the whole region because multiplication can not continue.

In conclusion, tiger decreasing even extinction is closely related with human unreasonable activities. Therefore, it is necessary for all countries to take pressures to protect tigers and severely punish illegal hunting behavior. People should also improve their tiger-protection awareness and dare to expose those who hunt tigers for trading. The year of tiger may bring us more good luck and power. If tigers are extinct, do you still think the year of tiger with enough meaning?

Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and the proliferation of huge, confined animal feeding operations.  These large meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute the water supply, generate significant greenhouse gases, and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rainforests.  The world’s total meat supply was 71 million tons in 1961. In 2007, it was estimated to be 284 million tons. Per capita consumption has more than doubled over that period.  Livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation. Though some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition, the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens.

Papua New Guinea’s forests are going fast. A new satellite analysis reveals that in 2001 accessible forests in the country were being cleared or degraded by 362,000 hectares a year.  A new report on The State of the Forests of Papua New Guinea from researchers at the University of Papua New Guinea Remote Sensing Centre and the Australian National University warns that by 2021, 83% of accessible forests and 53% of total forests will be gone or badly damaged.  The unfortunate reality is that forests in Papua New Guinea are being logged repeatedly and wastefully with little regard for the environmental consequences and with at least the passive complicity of government authorities.

The world is undergoing an acute food crisis with soaring prices for basic food.  Prices of rice and wheat were about double their levels a year earlier, and corn prices were over a third higher.  The crisis in food prices is the result of a combination of factors, among which the reduction of supplies due to farmers’ switch from growing crops for food to crops for agrofuels. Rich countries have promoted the production of agrofuels despite strong arguments warning about the ecological and social disaster they would imply on the world’s food security and on local peoples’ livelihoods and environments.  Agrofuels will indirectly destroy forests and lead to more costly food by increasing land pressures upon natural forests and agricultural crop lands

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has established an international fund to help protect the Amazon rainforests in the country.  Although not providing any money of its own, the President is seeking donations to the fund to the tune of $21 billion, including $1 billion in the first year.  Brazil would retain its control over the Amazon and the funds would be used to promote various forest protection programs. Norway has kicked in $100 million. The question is whether other nations will want to wait and see what comes of the climate negotiations at the UN, where negotiators from around the world are debating how to calculate deforestation emissions and create a system to fund conservation programs in tropical nations. 

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, an arm of the Brazilian government heads the list of the top 100 deforesters of the Brazilian Amazon.  At the very top is the Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform, in charged with overseeing land settlement.  Environment Minister Carlos Minc also released new evidence that deforestation rates continue to rise. Earlier this year, it was revealed that several years of progress in slowing deforestation has come to an abrupt halt which sparked an uproar, ultimately leading to the resignation of the previous Environment Minister Marina Silva.  Despite recent setbacks, the government is promising action, starting with a new initiative to halt deforestation by 2015. To help pay for all of this, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is requesting $21 billion from the international community. Earlier this month, Norway stepped up with $1 billion.

Environmental destruction processes usually lead to a series of causes, which can be classified as either direct or underlying causes.  An example of a direct cause would be the destruction of forests to convert into monoculture plantations such as soybeans (Brazil, Paraguay) or oil palm trees (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Colombia), among other types of plantations worldwide.  Almost all environmental destruction processes share a common underlying cause and that is excessive consumption.  For example, the paper industry in which worldwide consumption has already long surpassed the threshold of sustainability.  Despite this fact, the industry plans to increase this consumption even further by creating and maintaining the false notion that there is a huge need and demand for disposable paper products such as paper cups, tablecloths, and napkins among others.  This level of paper consumption requires a steady supply of vast quantities of abundant and cheap raw material.  Thus, the industry turned to the establishment of huge monoculture plantations of fast-growing trees (eucalyptus, acacia, pine), which resulted in the destruction of forests and grasslands.  These plantations, which continue to expand, are now becoming the main source of raw material for paper production.  To save the environment and their way of life, numerous local communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America are fighting back against the spread of monoculture tree plantations and pulp mills.  

Mangroves can be described as ‘rainforests by the sea’.  Large stretches of the sub-tropical and tropical coastlines of Asia, Africa, Oceania, the Americas and the Caribbean are fringed by mangroves, once estimated to cover an area of over 32 million hectares.  Now, less than 15 million hectares remain —less than half the original area.  The depletion of the world’s mangroves is due to excessive shrimp farms, tourist complexes and intense land development.  According to the latest study by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the current rate of mangrove loss is around 1% per annum—or around 150,000 ha of new mangrove area loss per year.  Now, the Mangrove Action Project (MAP) is working with other organizations in the global South towards restoring degraded and cleared mangrove areas as a high priority.  MAP is especially interested in restoring some of the 250,000 ha of abandoned shrimp farms located in former coastal wetland areas, especially in Asia and Latin America. But, even more importantly, MAP is working to help conserve and protect existing mangrove wetlands around the world.

The deforestation rate in Brazil has taken on a whole new sense of emergency.  The Brazilian Parliament has just adopted a provision into law providing for an increase in the area of the Amazon that may be granted for rural use with no need to call for bids. The limit, previously set at 500 hectares, has been increased to 1,500 hectares, allowing deforestation of up to 20 percent of the area granted.  This law will allow an increase of soybean plantations and cattle ranches in their need to exploit more land for destruction.  Recently, a report by the National Space Research Institute showed that the Brazilian Amazon lost 1,096 square kilometers of forests during May.   

Deforestation is a problem that could lead to disastrous consequences for mankind as a whole. Rapid urbanization is one of the primary causes of deforestation. As cities and towns expand, forests in their surrounding vicinity are being mercilessly cut down in order to make way for suburban townships. The forest cover in many areas is also decreasing since the land is being occupied for farming purposes in many countries. Increased global consumption is another one of the major reasons behind the decreasing forest cover. From paper to wooden furniture, one can imagine an entire host of products that owe their creation to trees and plants. 

Many people focus on South America, and Brazil in particular, as the major culprits of deforestation. But Africa is losing forest land just as quickly and mainly due to the desperation of the poverty stricken population. Coal is lighter, cheaper and easier to produce than other forms of fuel. 80% of fuel is still coal based in Africa, which leads to a huge amount of legal and illegal logging to supply the demand for fuel. And people will continue to log the forests until the find an alternative cheap fuel and income.

When we talk about deforestation, must of us think about Brazil, and the Amazon rainforest? But there are other places in the world where the rapid deforestation is causing serious damage to wildlife and possibly the climate as well. Indonesia is a prime example, where the orang-utan, one of the most endangered animals in the world, is quickly losing its habitat to deforestation. We need to remember that the Amazon is not the only rainforest in the world that is being stripped for the sake of progress. But can we truly call it progress when damage our future for the sake of commercial or individual benefit?

I hear arguements about Chocolate lovers and Coffee Drinkers needing to stop deforestation because it is the forests, more specifically the rainforests that produce the chocolate we eat and the Coffee that people drink.  My question is, it seems that the Chocolate making companies and the Coffee Companies would have more to lose.  Why don’t they buy up big plantations and help save the rainforests?  If the rainforests are gone, yes we lose our Chocolate and coffee and possible cancer fighting drugs but they will lose the entire company.  So, it seems we all need to do something.  I just think that the companies have bigger pockets and more weight to throw around than us little guys.  Agree?