Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Purchasing Power Endangered Species Handbook

Projects

Lifestyles and Citizen Action: Purchasing Power

Background

Developed countries consume 80 percent of the world's natural resources. If not for consumers in these countries, no market would exist for many luxury products, such as mahogany, teak and rosewood. The deforestation taking place to harvest these woods pushes many species of animals closer to extinction. Loggers take the largest and oldest trees. These are the ones most valuable as wildlife habitat, oxygen producers, carbon dioxide absorbers, soil stabilizers and water retainers. In spite of some programs meant to encourage "green" forestry practices, even selective logging, in which only a few trees are taken per acre, all types of logging have negative effects on pristine old-growth forests and their wildlife. (See Forests chapter). Many species are directly endangered through loss of habitat and hunting. People enter previously impassable forest on logging roads to kill Gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, rare antelopes, birds and other wildlife for bushmeat markets and animal products for Traditional Medicine. (See Forests chapter). Old-growth forests in some parts of the world have been growing undisturbed, harboring the same types of trees for hundreds of millions of years. These forests are irreplaceable repositories of biodiversity and living pharmacies, precious for their scientific value as extraordinarily rich ecosystems. Scientific knowledge of the functioning of these forests and an inventory of their species has only just begun. Cutting one tree can kill a dozen that come crashing down as jungle vines entwine whole groups of trees and branches that stretch for long distances knock down neighboring trees. In the process, many animals lose their lives and habitats. Nest holes for birds, mammals, reptiles and insects, loose bark under which forest bats roost, tall canopies for eagles' nests--all are lost. The logs obtained are not essential for human survival, but are sold as raw material for coffee tables, wall paneling and lawn furniture for the wealthy. Thousands are cut merely to manufacture shipping cartons or chopsticks, used once and discarded. more than 80 percent of these old-growth rainforests have been logged in the last century, greatly reducing the production of oxygen, water vapor and absorption of carbon dioxide. Certain products, such as Brazil and cashew nuts, can be extracted from tropical forests without harm. Ecotourism has great potential as a means of income. If profits are shared with the people who gather them, they will have an incentive to protect these trees. Other products that damage forests, especially tropical forests, are wooden carved boxes and tourist knick-knacks made from scarce woodlands in India, Indonesia and other countries where forests have been decimated.

Coffee was once grown in the shade of tall forest trees, but with the development of new strains of coffee plants, forests are being cleared to grow coffee in the sun (see the Forests chapter). Coffee grown in the shade is far more ecologically-friendly, since large trees are preserved. Many North American birds migrate to the tropics and winter in coffee plantations. The sun-grown coffee has deprived wildlife of this habitat. A campaign to return to shade-grown coffee, especially if grown without pesticides, was launched by the Smithsonian Institution a few years ago. Some commercial importers have provided a market for this shade-grown coffee, enlisting coffee farmers in many parts of the world to protect forests and grow coffee as an understory. Now this coffee is available in many US stores, marketed as "Shade-grown," "Bird-friendly" or "Shade-grown--Organic." Many of these coffees are comparable in price to, or only slightly higher than, sun-grown commercial coffee grown using pesticides. They have the added advantage of being healthier, since they contain no dangerous chemicals. Likewise, most bananas are grown with massive amounts of pesticides and herbicides, but many growers are now producing bananas organically. Ask your local grocery store to stock them and be aware that purchasing them helps the environment. A similar problem exists with the growing of chocolate from the cacao plant in tropical areas. Its great popularity in the United States has encouraged the clearance of forests for large-scale plantations that grow the plants in the sun, using fertilizer, fungicides and pesticides (see Khamsi 2001). Diseases have broken out in the large plantations, requiring heavy use of pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals to control them. Organic Commodity Products (OCP), a supplier in Cambridge, Massachusetts, promotes the growing of cacao in shade without artificial chemicals. Fortunately, 85 percent of the world's cacao is shade-grown. Some 6million small farmers who cannot afford pesticides provide this crop. Several chocolate companies are now marketing organic chocolate to promote environmentally friendly agriculture (see Khamsi 2001).

Caviar from sturgeon native to Russia and the Caspian Sea is one of the most valuable wildlife products. Sales in the United States and other importing countries have pushed virtually all Eurasian sturgeon species close to extinction. Even famous French chefs, including Jacques Pepin, recommend a boycott of Beluga, the most valuable caviar, which comes from the most endangered sturgeon species. Many other fisheries products come from species that have declined 90 percent or more in the past decade from overfishing. Atlantic Cod, Orange Roughy, Chilean Bass, Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, sharks of many species and swordfish have been seriously overfished. Many of these fish, such as sharks, are slow-reproducing, not having young until they are as old as 20 years. It is likely that their populations will never be able to sustain a commercial take. Pollack is a white fish from Alaskan waters that is being overfished to manufacture artificial crabmeat. The pollack fishery endangers Steller's Sea Lions, depriving them of a major food source. Shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and many other tropical areas endanger sea turtles, which drown by the thousands in shrimp nets, which also catch millions of tons of unwanted fish that are discarded. Some shrimp is caught using nets that allow sea turtles and other non-target species to escape the net through turtle excluders, and these shrimp are often labeled "turtle-safe." Farmed shrimp and salmon involve environmental destruction. Mangroves are being cut in tropical countries around the world to construct shrimp farms, which emit large amounts of pollution. Farmed salmon are kept in off-shore pens, but many escape to breed with wild salmon, endangering the latter. The pens also contribute large amounts of pollution to the ocean.

Likewise, mining operations devastate entire ecosystems to obtain gold for jewelry and other minerals. The United States provides an enormous market for gold, the majority of which is made into jewelry. Even national parks in Indonesia are now permanently scarred, with large areas of land and rivers devegetated and poisoned with cyanide, which is used to separate the gold from ore. This country has the highest number of threatened species in the world, a majority of which are found only here. Orangutans are being driven from their forest homes in Indonesian Borneo and Sumatra by loggers and gold miners, their populations now facing extinction in the wild. It is such activities that are fostered by the market for gold. Diamond extraction can destroy wildlife habitat and river bottoms, as well as causing human rights violations when used as currency by dictatorial governments who torture their citizens. Pearl cultivation damages American aquatic ecosystems. Pieces of mussel shell are inserted into living oysters, which causes the oyster to exude pearl material to surround the mussel shell. The mussel shells used for this cultivation come, for the most part, from the United States. Millions of tons of these shells are dug out of riverbeds, threatening some species.

As discussed in the Trade chapter and the previous project, millions of wild animals are captured for the pet trade and specialty collectors in wealthy countries. Parrots, cockatoos, macaws, turtles, tropical fish, snakes, lizards--and even frogs--are plucked from their tropical homes to be sold in pet stores. Some species have been driven to the edge of extinction by the wild pet trade, which also treats these animals inhumanely. The United States bans the import of most wild birds, but many species are still permitted under the Wild Bird Conservation Act. Also smuggling, a multi-billion dollar activity, funnels thousands of animals into pet stores where they are represented as legally taken or even captive-bred. Only 10 percent of shipments entering the United States are inspected for wildlife. For the majority of wild animals in the pet trade, little protection exists. Although the US Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have helped limit trade, strict controls exist for only a small minority of the most endangered species. Since the United States is the world's largest wildlife importer, the effect on wildlife has been catastrophic.

Lizard, snake and crocodile handbags, shoes and luggage; ivory; feathers and other wildlife products are part of a trade that has endangered hundreds of species. Even if the product was not made from an animal on the US Endangered

Species List, it may be threatened by trade or inhumanely captured or killed. At present, for example, the reptile product trade is killing millions of snakes and lizards for leather products, causing many species to become threatened. Yet almost no controls have been placed on the trade, and what controls there are contain loopholes making them ineffective.

Many plants are endangered by harvesting for collectors. Rare cacti, delicate woodland and wetland species such as Venus Flytraps, Yellow Lady Slippers and other orchids, South African protea and a long list of other plants are being plundered in the wild. Many of these plants cannot be raised in captivity and have been illegally dug up in the wild.

Activities

o Write a report on the effects that American consumers have on old-growth tropical rainforests and their wildlife.

o Ask local stores if they carry shade-grown and organic coffees and, if not, would they stock them? Several grocery store chains and many health food stores sell these coffees. In restaurants and coffeehouses where coffee is served in large quantities, ask them to purchase at least a portion of their coffee as shade-grown, organic. Write the Smithsonian Institution's Ornithology Department for more information on the effect of sun-grown coffee on birds and other wildlife, and write a report on the subject.

o Select one of the jewelry materials mentioned, such as gold. Read the Forests chapter in this book and other references to the mining of gold in South America, Africa and Asia and its effect on the environment and wildlife. Write a short report on the mining operations in a particular country and their effects on wildlife and the environment. If purchasing jewelry, choose artificial diamonds, pearls and gold. These items can hardly be distinguished from the genuine ones because of advances in simulation technology. Other types of gem and metal mining also damage the environment.

o Discuss the general reasons for boycotting wild pets; fur coats; reptile products; feathers; caviar; threatened fish; turtle meat;, Traditional Medicine remedies made from wild animals, such as snakes, bear, seahorses and other animals; other wildlife products and rare plants that you have seen in stores. Select one species (or group of species, such as sharks) and write a report on how the trade is threatening it and how to publicize the need to boycott its products.

Books and Publications

Bielski, V. 1996. Shopper, Spare That Tree! Sierra. The Magazine of the

Sierra Club, July/August, Vol. 81, No. 4, pages 38-41.

Goldberg, C. 1997. Seattle Journal. Songbirds' Plight Starts A Buzz in

Coffee Circles. The New York Times, July 27.

Hotton, P.C. 2001. House of steel: post, beams, frame, and roof. The Boston

Sunday Globe, Jan. 14.

Khamsi, R. 2001. Eating Right. Enlightened Indulgence. Organic Chocolate

Companies Help Make Calories Count Toward Conservation. E Magazine,

July/Aug.

Newman, J.A. Ruwindrijarto, D. Currey and Hasporo. 1999. The Final Cut.

Illegal Logging in Indonesia's Orangutan Parks. Environmental Investigation