Rainforest Destruction and Indigenous Tribes

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at the main causes of rainforest deforestation, which are logging, agriculture and cattle grazing. The paper reveals that Japan has the highest amount of rainforest product consumption in the world and discusses the country's proposed road that is contributing to further deforestation. The paper then discusses the loss of tribal plant knowledge but focuses on the Yanomami tribe who are helpless as the government, Brazilian soldiers, poachers, cattle ranchers and other invaders continue to destroy their homeland, culture and health. The paper concludes that because we care for our own well-being and survival, we must care for the survival of the forests which is essential for present and future generations.

From the Paper:

"Rainforests are the richest, oldest, most productive and complex land ecosystems on our planet. These humid and dense forests are home to over half the wild animal and plant species in existence. Rainforests are filled with all kinds of biological treasures that include hundreds of thousands of plant, animal, and insect species, most which have not yet been discovered. Biologist Norman Myers notes, "Rainforests are the finest celebration of nature ever known on the planet." They help to control the balance of atmospheric gases and have an immense impact on the world's climates. Earth's rainforests are commonly referred to as the "lungs of our planet." The turnover of oxygen that the hundreds of thousands of plant species in the rainforests produce is one of our primary defenses against global warming and the greenhouse effect. Rainforests regulate the flow of water to rivers and lakes, and release water into the atmosphere to form rain clouds. It is no exaggeration to say that future life on this planet may depend on their survival."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gradwohl, Judith and Greenberg, Russell. Saving the Tropical Rainforests. London, England: Earthscan Publications, Limited, 1988.
• Meunier, Jaques and Savarin, A.M. The Amazonian Chronicles. San Francisco, CA: Mercury House, 1994.
• Southgate, Douglas. Tropical Forest Conservation: An Economic Assessment of the Alternatives in Latin America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1998.
• Vandermeer, John and Perfecto, Ivette. Breakfast of Biodiversity: The Truth About Rainforest Destruction. Monroe, Oregon: The Institute for Food Development Policy, 1995.
• Newman, Arnold. Tropical Rainforest: A World Survey of Our Most Valuable and Endangered Habitat with a Blueprint for its Survival. New York, NY: Eddison Sadd Editions, 1990.

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