Biomes Under Pressure

Biomes Under Pressure

• Forests and woodlands• Tropical forests• Oceans• Coral reefs and mangroves

World Wood Consumption

Causes of Deforestation

• Economic development

• Human population growth

Frontier Forests 8,000 Years Ago

Frontier Forest = “Old Growth” Forest, which never having been cut down and cleared by humans, they are in balance with natural disturbance events such as fire, winds, etc…

Frontier Forests Today

Very few forests remain untouched by humans and our practices of large scale clearing for wood and agriculture lands.

Low or no threat

Medium or high threat

Non frontier forests

Unassessed for threat

North American Frontiers

Non-Frontier Forest are also called “Second Growth” Forests, meaning they have growth back at after at least one clearing.

www.globalforestwatch.orgwww.globalforestwatch.org

Cameroon in 1959Non-Forest

Unprotected Forest

Protected Forest

Logged or Logging

Man wants more farmland for livestock and crops.

Cameroon in 1971Non-Forest

Unprotected Forest

Protected Forest

Logged or Logging

Cameroon in 1995Non-Forest

Unprotected Forest

Protected Forest

Logged or Logging

Today, 80% of Cameroon’s Unprotected Forests are in

Logging Areas or Concessions

Cameroon in 1999Non-Forest

Unprotected Forest

Protected Forest

Logged or Logging

Affects of Deforestation(Clear Cutting)

Loss of forests leads to:Loss of forests leads to:

or

More

Less

ProductivityNutrient recyclingBiodiversitySoil erosionEvapotranspirationAir pollution

Sustainable Forest Management

• Manage for sustainable outcomes• Responsible practices (teach others)• Protect the health of the forest• Recognize and protect unique forest

ecosystems.• Continuous improvement (strive to be

better forest managers; be adaptive)

New Forestry Practices

• Cut trees less frequently• Leave wider buffer zones along

waterways• Leave dead logs and debris• Protect broader landscapes• Build no new roads until damage to old

ones is addressed• Added-value products (use of species

other than wood/lumber species)

Loss of Tropical Rainforests – Why?

• Colonization: consolidation of agricultural lands

• Huge national debts

• Fast food chains and cheap hamburger

Conserving Tropical Rainforests

• Ecotourism• Extractive reserves & Value-

added products• Management by indigenous

people• Rubber, coffee & cocoa

plantations• Sustainable logging• Carbon sequestration credits

Ocean Ecosystems

An international commons?

75% of the Earth’ssurface

Global Fish Harvests

100 million metric tons of food on a sustained basis?

Overfishing one species leads to shift to catch other less desirable species elsewhere.

Fisheries Problems

Too many boatsHigh technologyToo few fish

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

1976• Gave federal government

authority to manage fisheries

• Claimed the area between 3 and 200 miles off shore as the “Exclusive Economic Zone”

• Designed to eliminate foreign fishing

• Designed to restore and conserve fish

• Swapped foreign with American exploiters

• Huge conflict of interest among council members

• Endangerment of 236 fish species

Impacts of Magnuson-Stevens Act

Fisheries in Distress

Georges Bank Cod Fishery Collapse: Regional management council versus NMFS, an example of regional politics over sound science in late 1970’s; 197 dramatic solutions = half-time, 2/3 area fished; buy-out program.

Sustainable Fisheries Act• The 1996 reauthorization of the Magnuson Act.• Mandates that fish stocks be rebuilt (reestablished)• Management plans and yields be based on sound

scientific data• Steps be taken to minimize “by-catch”

Mangrove Forest: trees adapted to saltwater and flooded soils.

Mangroves• Protects coasts from

storm damage and erosion

• Forms rich refuge and nursery for marine fish

• Prevents sediments and excess nutrients getting to Coral Reefs

• Shrimp farming and residential development are leading causes of clearing.

Coral Reefs as Resources for Man:

• Important food sources for local people

• Wave erosion control

• Great diversity of marine vertebrates and invertebrates

Sources of Damage to Coral Reefs:• Climate Change

– Warmer waters – (Coral Bleaching Hot Spots)

• Sedimentation and Eutrophication– Coastal development– Shrimp aquaculture– Logging

• Over-Fishing – Islander poverty– Northern Demand

• Habitat Destruction/Alteration– “Loving it to death” – anchor and diver damage

Marine Sanctuaries

[Photo: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve]

BelizeCase Study

• About 70% Forest Remains

• Second largest barrier reef in the world.

• Tourism industry matches sugar Cane production as leading industry and revenue generator in Belize.

• Approximately 45% of land area as park, reserves, or private land trusts.

• Numerous marine sanctuaries!