What’s the problem? A large amount of land in the Manu region has been logged and cleared for pasture or farming. This quickly depletes the nutrients in the soil resulting in the land being abandoned and farmers and loggers moving onto new Virgin forest areas. As a result the land is abandoned and left unused, whist more pristine rainforest goes on to be destroyed.

By working with CREES we aim to rehabilitate this land for local communities by creating Polycultures. Whats a polyculture? Firstly a garden containing many crops is planted, locals can sell this produce to visiting tourists as well as feeding their own families. After a few years trees are then planted with the vegetables. This system of using multiple crops in the same space imitates the biodiversity of natural ecosystems and makes crops more resistant to disease, thus increasing the annual yield and it provides habitats for more local species. We will also be helping to improve school facilities in the area which we hope will encourage farmers and their families to settle in the area, thus protecting further areas from destruction.

I have recently decided to take steps every day towards this Big Hairy Audacious Goal:
There is so much about the rainforest that we need as a human race.

You wrote:
“The first step to conserve this country´s natural wealth must be to limit the expansion of industrial activity in rainforest areas.” How can we take really effective steps to do this? I know writing my politicians is a step which I take almost daily, but I think there can be more effective steps than this.

How can I “ensure that local people do have the right to determine what happens on their land.”?
If anyone has any measurable ideas on this, please let me know.

I have some ideas and info on saving the rainforest on these pages of my site:
http://christinemarsh.com/?p=842
http://christinemarsh.com/?p=932
http://christinemarsh.com/?p=943

Thank You for writing about Iquitos and the rainforest.
May you experience many miracles today!
Christine

I think you’re right on with this. However, I think there’s a third step that needs to be added to your list. As you wrote, limiting industrial expansion is key, as is giving local and/or indigenous people the rights to the land they consider to be theirs. And clearly, we need to change the dream of our world, so we no longer need to continue blind pursuit of natural resource wealth elsewhere [shout out to the Pachamama Alliance]. We can – indeed, must – all work to shift the global market forces away from destruction of forests.

But then we need to recognize the local market forces that influence everyone, including indigenous people and local forest dwellers. If they suddenly have legal titles to their forests, it stands to reason that the market forces will affect some of their decisionmaking. I have never been to Peru, but I think it’s probably wrong to assume that if you legally grant people land titles en masse, none will be tempted to convert to industrialized agriculture or sell to oil developers. This is part of the way humans work in an economic system – to seek personal profit, sometimes without considering environmental cost.

I realize ecotourism is part of the solution – making it economically sound to preserve forest, since they could make money on it by operating a lodge, tours, etc. But I think it’s a very limited part of the solution, and not very good at enforcing its own goals, since most tourists can’t tell a somewhat good ecosystem from one that may be suffering biodiversity loss. The result may be a boom of greenwashed tourism, and further degradation of natural capital.

I’m drawn to the only example I’m familiar with, which is Costa Rica’s system of Payment for Environmental Services. It’s certainly not a perfect system (can any nationally-run, top-heavy institution be?), but it pays landowners to manage forests in environmentally beneficial ways, financed by a tax on water use and fossil fuels. In essence, the government compensates them for the sequestered carbon and other environmental benefits that result from keeping their forests relatively forest-like, rather than cutting them down or converting them to monocrop. Some effort is being made to extend this program to those that do not hold legal titles to their land – without which, the program could be disastrous for those without legally recognized land titles. The program has had high enrollment rates, though its true effect is still being debated.

So, my two cents: Such a program of financing intact forests might help improve the rates of forest being preserved in Perú, while also working to increase the rights of the poor. But first, as you said, we need to ensure that local people do have the right to determine what happens on their land.

Keep up the good work!
Jeff