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! Lots of you said Eco tourism Educating people to behave in amore sustainable way MEDC’s could pay to preserve the rainforest – we are – it called carbon off-setting Insist on loggers replacing the trees they cut down Encouraging the sale of tree products e.g. vanilla Encourage to use less chemicals

4. So today we are going to look at particular examples of some of these Options for sustainable development in tropical rainforest around Maués, Amazonas, Brazil

5. Butterfly farming • Similar schemes successful in Papua New Guinea and Madagascar – not many in Amazon so far. • Only butterflies bred on the farms are allowed to be sold – it is illegal to sell wild butterflies. Getting butterflies to breed in captivity is not easy, so expert help would be needed to get the venture up and running – though installation of computers with satellite internet would make this easier (funding for this?) • Rare species such as the owl butterfly (pictured, right) can fetch $500 or more from American and Japanese collectors. Papua New Guinea makes around $500 000 / year from butterfly exports Number 1 on the WS

6. Harvesting guaranáand açaífruit • 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! • Maués 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 can be cultivated on small farms and should give a year-round supply. guaraná açaífruit Number 2 on the WS

7. 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. Number 3 starts here on the WS

8. Mr. Takamatsu Mahogany Teak Açaí palm Passion fruit Mr. Shibata Parica Cocoa

9. What are the benefits and advantages of agroforestry? • Soil protection and improvement • Maintenance and retention of soil moisture • Biodiversity balance • Low impact to the environment • Pleasant environment to work • Harvest and income staggered • Reducing the use of defensive chemicals • Production of healthy foods • Environmental services

10. Using the natural products to earn money – not just be harvesting but by processing as well By Natura Number 4 starts here on the WS

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.

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-based Natura seeks to contribute to development and make its brand recognized worldwide and identified with a community of people who are committed to creating a better world. • Natura believes that it can make the use of Brazilian natural flora economically viable while sustainably managing the extraction activity and helping the producing communities toward more secure livelihoods. • Since 2000, the relationship with the communities that supply the raw materials has been an important learning process, one that is helping the company create a consistent model for the sourcing and use of the raw materials

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.

18. Ecotourism: The Case of Río Blanco, Ecuador Number 5 starts here on the WS

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

24. 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!!