For years we have heard about rainforests disappearing from our planet at worrisome rates. Now, a recently published article in the International Herald Tribune notes that a few developments – in scenario terms: drivers of change – have perhaps been neglected too much in past attempts to assess the future of rainforests. As farmers are leaving their land for the city for example, the jungle is spreading out again.

“By one estimate, for every half a hectare of rain forest cut down each year, more than 20 hectares, or 50 acres, of new forest are growing in the tropics on land that was once farmed, logged or ravaged by natural disaster.”

Although their capacity to absorb CO2 and produce oxygen is recognized, several experts doubt however whether these secondary forest offer the same ecological qualities as ‘old’ rainforests. 

In discussions with clients we often encounter the phenomenon: years of media exposure to information about certain trends diminishes people’s critical reflection about and on possible countertrends. Even questioning the sheer possibility of the countertrend meets incredulity. Nevertheless, the what-if question remains a valuable thought experiment!

“Wright – an internationally respected scientist – said he knew he was stirring up controversy when he suggested to a conference of tropical biologists that rain forests might not be so bad off. Having lived in Panama for 25 years, he is convinced that scientific assessments of the rain forests’ future were not taking into account the effects of population and migration trends that are obvious on the ground.”

Via The International Herald Tribune

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 19:14 and is filed under future, sustainability, trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.