Tropical forests contain enormous amounts of carbon and when they are slashed and burned (if you want to know more about slash and burn please read João’s post Cold-Hearted Arsonists) they are released to the air and increase the carbon dioxide concentration, thus augmenting global warming. Presently, the destruction of rainforests is the main cause of carbon dioxide emissions in the planet. However horrific this fact alone is, tropical forests obliteration also devastates millions of different species’ habitats which may lead to their extinction. So, with all this in mind, you must struggle against the killing of a essential part of the planet.
Luckily, there are organizations which know what tropical forests represent to the global well-being and fight for it. Organizations like Rainforest2Reef, a non-profitable group that cares deeply for the survival of rainforests, in particular the Selva Maya forest” (…) the second largest rainforest in the Americas (…).” (Cheri Sugal, Executive Director of Rainforest2Reef). This forest stretches along parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Protecting some of this area is the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. This wild-life sanctuary has about 750.000 hectares and holds about 60.000 species of plants and animals.
A local Native American people called ejidos owns large areas of the Selva Maya. For some of them, the only way to make a living is to sell their land to logging and slash and burn agriculture corporations. The newest threat is the proposal of ethanol companies to convert territory outside and even inside the reserve into corn production fields. This would tear apart the Selva Maya rainforest so Rainforest2Reef came up with a solution, they would pay the ejidos 2, 5 times what they’d receive from selling to others. They have also been working with them to find a more profitable way to collect from their lands without damaging the ecosystem and also teaching the young about the importance of forests. Now, they have been measuring the quantity of carbon so they can, in the future and according to market developments in the U.S.A. sell the carbon off-sets they have secured to companies. As a result of these business measures they are building a trust-fund along with Conservation International, so that they can finance land protection forever.
All of the world should follow the example of this modest association and put in the efforts for the preservation of the world’s resources. We have to try and make the best we can with what we can and without damaging the others.
http://www.quantumshift.tv/v/1221506699/
Luckily, there are organizations which know what tropical forests represent to the global well-being and fight for it. Organizations like Rainforest2Reef, a non-profitable group that cares deeply for the survival of rainforests, in particular the Selva Maya forest” (…) the second largest rainforest in the Americas (…).” (Cheri Sugal, Executive Director of Rainforest2Reef). This forest stretches along parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Protecting some of this area is the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. This wild-life sanctuary has about 750.000 hectares and holds about 60.000 species of plants and animals.
A local Native American people called ejidos owns large areas of the Selva Maya. For some of them, the only way to make a living is to sell their land to logging and slash and burn agriculture corporations. The newest threat is the proposal of ethanol companies to convert territory outside and even inside the reserve into corn production fields. This would tear apart the Selva Maya rainforest so Rainforest2Reef came up with a solution, they would pay the ejidos 2, 5 times what they’d receive from selling to others. They have also been working with them to find a more profitable way to collect from their lands without damaging the ecosystem and also teaching the young about the importance of forests. Now, they have been measuring the quantity of carbon so they can, in the future and according to market developments in the U.S.A. sell the carbon off-sets they have secured to companies. As a result of these business measures they are building a trust-fund along with Conservation International, so that they can finance land protection forever.
All of the world should follow the example of this modest association and put in the efforts for the preservation of the world’s resources. We have to try and make the best we can with what we can and without damaging the others.
http://www.quantumshift.tv/v/1221506699/
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