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 ForestPreserving Forests: Page 4 The forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are among the wildest and least explored in the world, but this wilderness is being invaded by loggers and meat hunters. Michael Fay, a biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, has been on a mission to cross this vast area on foot, accompanied by some natives and correspondents, describing the amazing sights along the way. He is trying to draw attention to this region and the urgency of saving it while most of it is still in pristine condition. He has already succeeded in having a sizeable national park established. His trek is dangerous, with poisonous snakes, leeches, tropical diseases and other threats, but he is a dedicated conservationist and scoffs at the dangers. The National Geographic Society is helping to sponsor his trip and publishes regular articles in their magazine on his progress, and their website gives more information. Several short films have also been made for the National Geographic “Explorer” program. His mission is extremely important and has the potential of preserving entire ecosystems of threatened animals and plants.
A growing awareness of the problem, along with creative solutions, give hope that in at least some parts of the world, large tracts of tropical forests and their wildlife will be spared. Two enormous parks were established in Suriname and Bolivia in the 1990s, mainly as a result of the work of Conservation International, a US organization that successfully convinced the governments of these countries that such protection will be far more beneficial for the country than short-term exploitation and forest clearance. Other organizations are working effectively in central Africa, Peru, Brazil, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines to protect these species-rich forests.
New approaches to deriving funds from forests without logging and destroying diversity include regulated extraction of non-wood products, such as seeds, fruits and plants, for food and medicinal purposes. Ecotourism is one of the most lucrative and growing industries in the world, with revenues in the billions of dollars and rising.
Old-growth forests are being cut not because they provide raw material that cannot be found elsewhere, but because they provide a high profit margin to European, North American and Asian logging companies. Decisions made about the fate of these forests, upon which the survival of so many species depends, are not being made by the people where logging takes place, nor by conservationists. These precious and irreplaceable resources, habitat of the majority of the world's threatened species, are being sold to logging companies for pittances. The United Nations has recently endorsed the concept that forest diversity must be maintained, joining the ranks of many other international organizations. In time, society may learn to preserve these storehouses of evolution with the same zeal that great works of art are protected.
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