Conservation in the Amazon

At a time in history when scientists are recording unprecedented extinction rates and many people feel that the loss of biological diversity and deteriorating natural systems is the defining issue of our time, the west Amazon is ground zero. Nowhere are the stakes higher. --Paul Rosolie Mother of God, pg. 15

The Amazon Rain Forest is, possibly, the last place of pure wilderness. Deep in the heart of areas like the Madre de Dios is a word so unlike anything in comparison to the Western world. Civilization as we know it just does not exist in these remote areas. However, this pristine world is under attack from the Western world. Loggers, miners, hunters, and farmers are all encroaching upon the impressive wilderness, carving deeper and deeper into the jungle. The fires that clear the farmlands also fuel climate change. The Amazon is, however, one of the biggest economic driving forces in areas still lucky enough to have it. Despite that, in our minds, the wilderness is long lived and adamant. The Amazonian ecosystem is actually incredibly fragile. John Muir stated that, “pick[ing] out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.” This translates nicely to the Amazonian forest by taking, for example, figs out of the ecosystem, the entire ecosystem can collapse (Rosolie 2014). I bring this point up because, in the Amazon, the rain forest isn't at risk from just the loss of one cog in the ecosystem, it's being systematically attacked from all sides. The biggest danger that the rain forest faces isn't, in fact, from encroaching from the edges (although that does happen), the forest is under attack primarily through the production of roadways.

One of the biggest losses in Amazonian preservation was the creation of the trans-Amazonian highway (currently under construction). Conceived in the 1970s by the Brazilian government, the overarching goal was to mesh the Amazon with the rest of the country (Rosolie 2014). The road damages the rain forest through forest fragmentation. The scar torn apart in the landscape isn't singular. Off the trans-Amazonian highway, other roads and offshoots will develop as farmers and loggers branch off and into the pristine jungle. This is known as the “fish bone” effect. The project itself was funded by the World Bank for the sole purpose of tapping into the immense resources found within the Amazon (Rosolie 2014). The trans-Amazonian highway is the greatest threat to the rain forest today. Likewise, the highway will open tribes to the ways of the West. These tribal tribes have and will be killed or forced into the heart of the ever dwindling forest (Rosolie 2014). It is important to note that, in modern-day conservation, victories are temporary, losses are final (Rosolie 2014).

The true losses that the trans-Amazonian highway and the general deforestation of the rain forest are multifaceted and, potentially, detrimental to life. The Amazon itself is called the “lungs of the earth” because it produces roughly more than 20 per cent of our oxygen (Rosolie 2014). This is a huge problem because, with the seemingly inevitable destruction of the forest, we would have a world functioning with only 80 per cent of the usual oxygen and, logically, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is not absorbed by the rain forest in the atmosphere furthering climate change. Likewise, the Amazon has housed some of the greatest discoveries known to man. The first cure for malaria, for example, was derived from the rain forest (Rosolie 2014). We have discovered approximately 10 per cent of all species on the earth (statistics vary depending on the source). If the mass extinction that is predicted will happen, who knows what cures, resources, and other values will die before we can discover them. Jane Goodall commented on humanity's treatment of the wilderness beautifully when she stated, “We've just been stealing, stealing, stealing from our children, and it's shocking.” It's like we're playing a generational game of Russian Roulette. However, every generation we replace a blank with a bullet, and fire the gun twice.

The deforestation of the Amazon relates to “Principles of Ecology” because it is a prime and current example of unsustainable living and ecological destruction. Deforestation of the Amazon is driving countless species extinct daily, depleting nonrenewable resources, and destroying a fragile ecosystem. All blame is on humanity's shoulders. All topics we talk about regularly in class.

Personally, I am disgusted with humanity's treatment of the wilderness. I believe in conservation for two main reasons. Firstly, conservation is important because we rely on the systems we so effectively destroy. Secondly, I find personal joy in places that man does not degrade. Wild areas are, in my mind, necessary for the world, our species, and the health of my very psyche; regardless if I explore them or not. They are necessary for a natural, healthy world. For too long, mankind has dominated and degraded the earth. I hope we can change our motto of destruction to one that preaches preservation, biodiversity, and a re-connection with nature. In the words of my personal favorite conservationist, “We are kindred all of us, killer and victim, predator and prey, me and the sly coyote, the soaring buzzard, the elegant gopher snake, the trembling cottontail, the foul worms that feed on our entrails, all of them, all of us. Long live diversity, long live the earth!” (Abbey 1968 pg. 34).

Literature Cited

Abbey, E. 1968. Desert solitaire. Simon and Schuster Inc.: New York City (NY).

Abbey, E. 1968. Cliffrose and bayonets. In Abbey, E. 1968. Desert solitaire. Simon and Schuster Inc.: New York City (NY). 34.

Rosolie, P. 2014. Mother of god. HarperCollins: New York City (NY).

Lungs of the earth. World Wildlife Foundation [Internet] [cited 3 Mar 2015]. Available from https://joyfulgaye.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/wwf_lungs.jpg