Stopping tropical deforestation in the Amazon but also in Africa and Asia will require a concerted international effort involving both rainforest and non-rainforest countries. Policies need to be put in place to ensure the sustainability of all products coming from tropical rainforest areas, especially timber which currently can be illegally felled yet legally imported into many countries. The increasing levels of beef consumption in industrialized and industrializing societies must also be addressed in order to place less pressure on the agricultural frontier in the Amazon. Climate change must be addressed at a global level while Amazonian communities need to be given more economic incentives to use the rainforest sustainably, harvesting limited rainforest resources over time rather than cutting it down for meager but immediate returns.
Finally, a comprehensive network of protected areas, including nature reserves and indigenous reserves, needs to be established across the Amazon, linked by a series of corridors. Given the low species density of tropical rainforest, with small numbers of each species of flora in particular per unit area, scientists now believe that successful reserves need to be extensive in size, typically at least 10,000 hectares and preferably more, if they are to truly preserve the biodiversity of the Amazon.
Red and Green Macaw (close-up) 5
Red-brocket Deer 2009-04-09
