The Amazon basin drought
Brazilian fishermen stand among dead fish along an Amazon tributary
Image source: planetark.com
Just as deforestation has affected rainfall patterns in China, the dramatic images from the drought-stricken Amazon basin this week shows what happens when 6 football pitches of rainforest are cut down every minute. As this latest environmental catastrophe is one of a long line of such incidents around the world recently, it has barely registered with the world’s media, yet it affects 61 municipalities and threatens the livelihoods of millions of people.
Much closer to home, deforestation of the Panti forest reserve in Johore Bahru has almost but depleted the remaining rare and beautiful bird population within the forest.
Panti has always been the haunt of birders within the region, and it is never difficult to record more than 100 lowland forest species in a morning’s walk alnog the 5 metres wide loggin trail. Ironically, this is due to the encroaching logging activities surrounding the forest such that the inhabitants become increasingly squeezed within a small forest area.
Still, this was a little of what is left, and conservationalists and birders alike guard this remaining space with gusto.
In recent months, large scale logging activities approved apparently by the Johor state governemnt has allowed private companies to further develop the Panti area. Some of the land has apparently been sold to companies growing Palm oil. This continued devestation of the land will not only force birds to leave or simply die out due to habitat depletion, the larger animals such as the asian elephants will also make their presence felt among the locals living near the forest.
This is but a rehash of a very sad fact that humans continually exploit the earth for thier own needs without giving back to it. I’m afraid we don’t have much time left Jeremy.
Jeremy and Paul
I think it is quite telling that Donella Meadows, co-author of the first Limits tp Growth report in the 1970s, commented towards the end of her life that she was no longer so interested in the arguments for limits to growth, but the question of why so many peoples are in denial of them.