Courts and Conservation in Amazon
Indigenous Communities Win Legal Battle in Brazilian Amazon
Mar 21, 2009
Indians from the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation in Brazil have won the legal battle in a 30-year land dispute with large scale farmers in the northern state of Roraima, near the border with Venezuela. The supreme court decision puts 1.7 million hectare reserve under legal control of some 18,000 indigenous Amazonians members of the Ingariko, Taurepang, Patamona,Macuxi and Wapichana, tribes.
Important role of Indigenous Communities in Conservation
There is increasing evidence that indigenous communities in Amazon play a very important role in the conservation of this precious inheritance. A study by US Woods Hole Research Center and the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia, published in the February 2006 issue of Conservation Biology, had found that indigenous communities have been successful in limiting deforestation by agricultural conversion and fire. Fires were 4 to 9 times higher outside. Raising of cattle and agricultural crops by outsiders has taken a heavy toll of forests. The researchers feel that the service rendered by the indigenous communities is as good as creating new reserves. Indigenous lands occupy one-fifth of the Brazilian Amazon. This works out to five times the area under protection in parks.
Crucial Economic and Ecological Functions
The Amazon rainforest is crucial to the South American economy. The Amazon rainforest is one of the important producers of natural rubber in the world. Timber and a host of allied products come out of the forests. But it is the spin-off role of environmental services provided by the forests that is of great importance,. This includes services such as cooling the whole planet and having an important bearing in balancing climatic aspects like rainfall and fresh water production.
The forests are also a great source of medicines. It is interesting to note that 25% of the medicine used by mankind comes from plants. 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide are derived from plant sources. Right now only 1to 2% of the plants have been researched for their medicinally relevant phytochemical components. Scientists have recently isolated Isolongifolenone, a natural compound found in the Tauroniro tree (Humiriabalsamifera) of South America, which has been found to be an effective deterrent of mosquitoes and ticks. This is far superior to currently used chemical products. The buck does not stop here. The bonanza from the forests includes the wild relatives of, oranges,lemons, grapefruit, bananas, sugar cane, turmeric, coffee, potatoes, rice,guavas, pineapples, mangoes, tomatoes, corn, avocados, and coconuts. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg. There is a goldmine waiting to be tapped in the Amazon forests.
Worldwide Importance
The Amazon rainforest, which is the biggest carbon sink, also affects the climate round the world. The Amazon cools down the temperature round the world by 1 or 2 degrees Celsius and also affects the humidity and rainfall in several parts of the globe. Deforestation releases carbon to the atmosphere in form of carbon dioxide. This has direct bearing on climate change that is throwing affairs out of kilter in various parts of the world.
Scientists have estimated that mature tropical forests, which cover about 10% of Earth's land, absorb around 1.3 billion tonnes of carbon per year. This works out to the equivalent of around 20% of carbon emissions from fossil-fuel burning.
It is now amply evident that the international community has a great stake in conserving Amazon rainforests. Impacts of destruction here sends ripples worldwide. The indigenous communities of Amazon have a great role to play which has to be supplemented by efforts from round the world.
Reference
February 2006 issue of Conservation Biology
