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NATURAL RESOURCES
Tropical Deforestation
When looking at deforestation and trying to find solutions to the existing crisis, it is important to examine the factors contributing to deforestation such as logging, large scale agriculture schemes, mining, the building of dams, and government colonization schemes as a response to landlessness. The effects of such policies are ecological imbalance, loss of biodiversity, and climate change as well as further genocide of indigenous people.
Deforestation of tropical forests is directly tied to North/South economic issues such as overconsumption, debt and economic adjustment policies being imposed on the debtor countries by the international financial institutions.
The most prevalent reason for tropical deforestation is economic. Whether it is for a landless peasant, a transnational company or a private landowner, economics dictates their actions when it comes to the exploitation of this rapidly disappearing natural resource. For a long time, deforestation was presented as a result of population growth and poor people destroying the rainforests. Colonization schemes, as is the case with Brazil, have been the scapegoat for governments who refuse to address issues of land redistribution. In a desperate attempt to industrialize, countries do not hesitate to cash in on their natural resources, and demand for their timber exists in Northern markets, providing them with much needed foreign exchange to repay their debts.
Western development schemes are responsible for the destruction of life support systems in developing countries which are threatening us all. These projects include dams, roads, and power stations, all funded by the West through international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. Even when we know well the consequences of these projects, aid agencies continue to lend money to finance projects which countries cannot afford financially, socially and ecologically. Some environmental groups feel that the answer lies in the "greening" of development projects and the policies of aid agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF. In response to pressure, the World Bank has established an environment department to review the environmental impact of projects it proposes to fund. Rather than a ban on tropical timber, the World Bank proposes "forest management" or "sustainable forestry", harvesting timber without the forest being destroyed. Companies are being encouraged to harvest and renew forests gradually, therefore treating forests as long term investments.
The deforestation of Brazilian rainforests is being carried out as a means to develop the country. This is based on the concept or model of fast industrialization, where cash crop agriculture and monocultures are created to feed industry and export markets.
Gigantic projects undertaken by Brazilian and multinational corporations are contributing to the large scale devastation of the rainforest. The projects are cattle ranches, paper mills, cash crop plantations, timber mills and mining. Often, these operations are financed with state subsidies such as tax rebates. In the case of cattle ranching, production is very low, but, because of low operating costs, these operations continue to run. The cattle not only produce little beef, they produce no milk, while, had the forests been left standing, a Brazil nut tree alone could produce hundreds of kilos of food.
Mega projects in the Amazon provide few people with employment, about one worker per 3000 hectares on a cattle ranch, where the forest provided for the livelihood of a few hundred people on the same area of land.
The social devastation created by mega projects in the Amazon is a serious problem, not only for the indigenous communities, but for the local communities who do not benefit from the profits being made by the large corporations. In order to prevent agrarian reform, the government of Brazil has developed settlement schemes for landless peasants who clear forests of everything to cultivate subsistence crops. These settlement schemes are also socially disruptive, displacing and coming into conflict with populations that live traditionally in the area. The colonization schemes displace the indigenous populations and the rubber tappers alike, both of whom have lifestyles that are compatible with the rainforest.
Forests offer more resources than timber. Typically, rainforests fruits and latex represent approximately 90% economic potential and timbers, approximately 10%. This is what the idea of "extractive reserves" is based on. The idea of extractive reserves may provide the greatest hope for the Amazon. It offers commercial development of the rainforest while offering long term economic choices for the forest dwellers and the forests themselves.
PROTECTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
We recognize that the environment is the pillar of development, and observe that it is the resource basis that provides the elements for subsistence. It constitutes the material basis for wealth and prosperity of all people.
We express our deepest preoccupation for the actual state of destruction of the planet - disappearance of forests, loss of biodiversity, global warming and ozone layer thinning. If we do not act immediately, this situation could result in an irreversible catastrophe of unforeseen consequences.
We recognize that the actual development model is based not only on the exploitation of natural resources, but also on social injustice, and condemns a large percentage of the population to extreme poverty.
The majority of the population in the South fail to have control over their natural resources. part of this lack of control is caused by multinational corporations' exploitation of raw materials from the South - which provides cheap labour - to be processed in the North. The final products are then exported back to the South at exorbitant prices.
All of these activities have contributed to the over-exploitation of natural resources in the South, and the resulting environmental crisis that we face today.
Youth 92: The World Youth Statement and Plan of Action on Environment and Development
Cite as: Youth Sourcebook on Sustainable Development. Winnipeg: IISD, 1995. Online. Internet. http://iisd.ca/youth/ysbk026.htm.