How can human activity protect the Amazon Rainforest?

1. How can human activity protect the Amazon Rainforest?

2. Your homework last week • You may think that the obvious solution to the problems of deforestation is simply to stop people cutting the trees down. • However, it's not always as straightforward as that. Most of the countries that have rainforests are trying to cope with poverty, debt and high rates of population growth. Can they be blamed for trying to make some money? • Can you think of any way that countries, that form part of the Amazon rainforest, could make money from it sustainably?

3. There were some great ideas! To be added later for each class

4. So today we are going to look at particular examples of some of these ideas in action

5. The main areas we will look at … • Sustainable logging – this means still harvesting useful wood but doing it in a way that does not damage the rainforest. • Collecting products of the rainforest without destroying the trees • Agro-forestry – using the forest to farm in amongst the trees • Eco-tourism – allowing paying visitors in to see the forest and its wonders without destroying the eco-system.

6. Sustainable logging • Precious Woods is a leader in this. They have 4 500 km2 (about ¼ the size of Wales) • In each 25- year cycle only 3 to 6 trees per hectare are harvested, i.e. fewer than simultaneously grow back. • Also much of the processing of the wood – trimming and turning the wood into planks is done locally – jobs for the Amerindians. It also saves on bigger transport costs so reducing the amount fuel and there greenhouse gases. • They also burn the waste wood to produce electricity to run their factories – more green energy – no nasty rotting waste giving out methane! Idea 1

7. International reactions • Wood harvested sustainably in this way is certified – see right for one sign of certification. You may have seen it on paper (or even loo roll and kitchen roll) or wooden goods? • FSC stands for Forestry Stewardship Council and is internationally recognised. • The European Union and some other countries have now banned all wood and wood products that is not certified.

8. Harvesting • This is a way of using the products provides to make a living without destroying it. • We have a couple of examples – both food and believe it or not cosmetics

9. Harvesting guaranáand açaífruit Idea 2A • These are 2 new ‘superfoods’ – a bit like broccoli was a few years ago – that have been harvested from the wild and eaten by Amerindians for centuries – but which have now become the in-thing for many rich Americans and is now on its way to Europe! • Manués is known as the ‘home of guaraná‘. Guarana grows as bushes in natural clearings, and is used to make a very caffeine-rich, energy-giving drink – like a low-sugar, natural Red Bull. The guaraná also use it as a pain-killer. • Açaí has until recently been less well-known outside the Amazon, but recent research has shown it to have similar properties to guaraná, as well as potentially lowering the chances of cancer and heart-disease. • Both plants fruit be collected in the wild or can be cultivated on small farms and should give a year-round supply. guaraná açaífruit This shows what they do. Why is it a good idea?

10. Using the natural products to earn money – not just be harvesting but by processing as well By Natura Do not try to write notes on this one until we get to the end

11. This what the PR people say • Ekos cosmetics line of products by Natura is made with resources of the rich Brazilian biodiversity extracted in a sustainable form and through Fair Trade. • They are biodegradable and their packages contain recycled glass and paper. • Better still, they incorporate the concept of refills, offering better prices for the extra fillings and a longer use of the packages. • The products are inspired by the properties of native plants such as Maracujá and Cajú Chestnuts (just to name a few of the beautiful flavours), and include shampoo, hair conditioners, soaps, body lotions and perfumes. Idea 2B

12. Who is ‘Natura’? • When it launched the Ekos cosmetics line in 2000, Natura started to put into effect its policy of the sustainable use of Brazilian natural materials. • For example, Natura uses the Brazil nut in products for dry skin and hair. • Brazil nut-based Natura seeks to help the local people and the country make money, help Natura become famous worldwide and known as a company working with a community of people who are committed to creating a better world. • Natura believes that it can us natural products sustainably and help the producing communities toward more secure livelihoods.

13. The Brazil Nut • The Brazil nut is consumed as a white milk rich in calories and appropriate for infant nutrition. • It is a source of selenium, an important anti-oxidant. • The water from the Brazil nut’s bur, its outer casing, is used to treat hepatitis. • Its emollient properties and the richness of the nutrients in Brazil nut oil have led Natura to use it to develop special products for dry skin and hair. • The Brazil nut also has an important socio-economic function. • It provides sustenance for many families, and the pod, a byproduct rich in selenium, can be used in cereals and other foods. • The locally processed oil is sold to cosmetics companies.

14. How did it all start? • During 2004, a team from Natura started working with the community of Iratapuru, in the State of Amapá. • The community of Iratapuru is made up of 32 families, about 150 people in all, and they supply • copaiba (an oily resin from the rainforest with herbal medicinal uses), • breu branco (a natural resin used in perfume) and • Brazil nuts. • The Amazon Working Group of the Friends of the Earth helped to create a business within the community. • The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified the three community-produced raw materials and sustainable development policies were adopted throughout the supply chain.

15. Iratapuru

16. And next .. • The community created a savings account made up of a percentage of the profit from the sale of products based on raw materials supplied by the community. • These funds may be used both for immediate and future needs. • Amapaz who specialise in sustainable development, are helping the community to plan for the future, which may include other activities besides extraction.

17. Product certification • In 2005, Natura had 12 FSC-certified raw materials, including • Brazil nuts, copaiba, breu-branco, rosewood, cocoa and the herb used to make yerba mate, a tea growing in popularity outside of Latin America. • The FSC seal ensures that the customer contributes to the preservation of forests and the improvement of the social conditions of workers and local communities. • The price Natura pays for the raw materials is negotiated with industry and follows Fair Trade principals. • The community of Iratapuru now has a Brazil nut oil extraction plant, allowing it not only to supply basic raw materials, but also to participate in other stages of the production chain, thereby adding value to its product. What do they do? Why is it a good idea?

18. Agroforestry • Agroforestry is a form of agriculture that seeks to copy nature more carefully than large-scale commercial monoculture (i.e. growing one crop) or cattle ranching. • Rather than clearing the rainforest completely (clear felling), only the older larger trees are felled, and shrubs, other food plants (such as vanilla) and flowers are grown in the clearings. • It is also possible to plant legumes which add nitrogen to the soil. Idea 3

19. This is what agroforestry looks like • Can you see the things that make it sustainable? Remember what happens to bare soil? Can you see anything here that helps?

20. What are the benefits and advantages of agroforestry? • The soil is protected from erosion and more compost is added from the falling leaves • The soil is partly shaded so it cannot dry out • There are plenty of different kinds of plants, so the animals have food and shelter – ecosystem is un damaged • The farmer has different crops growing through out the year, so if one crop fails it is not a disaster • By mixing plants together, you need fewer chemicals • Good mixed diet produced – fruits and vegetables as well as main filling foods

21. Ecotourism: The Case of Río Blanco, Ecuador Idea 4

22. What is ecotourism? • Some organisations use the term as a selling point, without really meaning it. • Ecotourism should help protect the environment while at the same time enabling economic development. • What is meant by economic development? • In many poorer places, there are few facilities and little money. So if tourism is to enable economic development, it needs to provide a better quality of life for the people living there, in terms of health care, education, water supply and so on. • Early on, tour operators brought in tourists to see the wild life and so on. They charged for the trips and very little of the money stayed in the communities. The local people felt exploited. They had to dress up in native costumes, dance and do whatever their culture provided. • They were paid very little and had no chance to provide any services that they could be paid for.

23. But by the 1980s some communities got wise to this • One community not far from Río Blanco, built several tourist cabins in the traditional bamboo and thatch style and furnished them with mattresses, sheets and mosquito netting. • They designed a program of intercultural education and exchange, in which tourists take guided walks through the forest, eat traditional meals, learn about the blowgun and trap-making, and participate in a cultural program. • This program as a true ecotourism project. Tourist income, which came directly from visitors rather than through tour operators, was invested in a community fund. Members decided communally how to spend the money; for example for health emergencies, no-interest loans to members, agricultural and transportation improvements.

24. Now it is Río Blanco’s turn to try • Although Río Blanco is more remote, they decided that ecotourism might be a good project for their community. • They built cabins, trails and bridges themselves. • Once the tourists began to arrive, the cooking, cleaning, and cultural demonstrations were assigned according to a rotation schedule to ensure that the workload was shared equitably.

25. Now it is Río Blanco’s turn to try • They had 158 tourists the first year – most only stayed one night as part of a tour around several villages, with a few staying more nights making just over 200 night stay • For this they received about $6000 dollars Over sixty percent of the earnings were reinvested in the project itself-for food, for fuel for the canoe, and to pay off loans for beds, sheets, dishes and other furnishings. • The rest was shared between each participating household

27. Homework • On google images put in a search like • Amazon ecotourism • Choose a picture that looks interesting and it will be part of a site that is probably selling those sorts of holidays. • Read what they tell you about the site and send me a postcard from the place – you should be able to find out something you might do and what it is like and what you might see – postcards do not have much space so you will need to keep it short!!