Views on the Topic of Reeds Book Forest Dweller, Forest Protectors Ess

Views on the Topic of Reed's Book Forest Dweller, Forest Protectors Many of the countries of South America have experienced severe balance of payments deficits. In order to encourage development and solve these problems, the governments have engaged in misguided and largely unsuccessful development projects in the rain forests. Ranchers have cleared the forests to raise cattle. Colonization projects have brought small farmers into regions that were once virgin forest. The farming practices that were developed in temperate regions are not very successful in these areas. The land is quickly depleted and the farmers and ranchers clear more forest. The authors of this article suggest that this pattern is not necessary. They explain that simply by following the models of sustainable resource extraction practiced by the indigenous people of the area, the resources of the rain forest can be utilized sustainably. The areas in which sustainable resource extraction is being investigated include gathered products, wild game, aquaculture, agriculture, and resource units. The authors explain each type of resource and touch on how each can be extracted sustainably with the help of indigenous models. For example, game animals could be taken from the forest sustainably if they were "cropped in a form of ‘semi-domestication’ in abandoned garden sites" (Posey, et al 1984). This would mimic the indigenous people such as the Guaranà ­ who are able to keep populations of important game animals artificially high when they allow them to eat food plants out of their gardens. If this model were followed, more animals could be hunted with less harm to the population. Agricultural practices of native peoples could also be copi... ... and used for meat in a sustainable way. I find this point to be highly controversial. Large mammals such as manatees are more vulnerable to over-hunting because their populations are not very dense. Many varieties of turtles are already endangered in the rain forests because there is too much sediment and pollution in the rivers. I don’t think that these species should be considered in sustainable hunting programs. Finally, some of the ideas of these authors, including gathering insects, organizing plantations of fruit bearing trees and keeping animals that eat the fruits on the land as a "game farm," and developing resource units seem a little bit far fetched. All of the ideas of this paper do, however, merit careful review. Any use of a rain forest that maintains the biodiversity and all allows the ecosystem to remain intact is better than clear cutting.