First assignment of group n°055
Resources used by the team[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
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One Earth, one people, one forest[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
Every year, 13 million square kilometres of tropical forests disappear, which is about ¼ of France. Every two seconds, the equivalent of a football field of forests disappear. The Amazon Rainforest is the biggest tropical forest in the world: it represents about 4 million square kilometres and we estimate that its clearing is responsible for the loss of three species per hour, that is to say seventy-two per day; which represents 26 280 per year. The impact of deforestation is both environmental and social because it impacts principaly on the natives.
« We are alive but we are dying slowly», Guarani-kaiowa Tribe Chiefs
WHY DO WE WANT TO SOLVE IT?[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest grows by 25% every year. However, lakes and the Amazon river represent ⅓ of the world reservoir. The disappearance of the Amazon rainforest, also called “the lung of Earth”, would have high consequences on the environment as it is at the origin of ⅕ of the CO² world emissions; which is even higher than emissions produced by transportation systems. As for us, this problem is under-estimated worldwide and is not really considered seriously. Indeed, it impacts on our generation but also on the future ones.
The disappearance of the Amazon rainforest would also lead to the monopolization of the fields owned by the natives because of the deforestation. Indeed, it is both their living place, their hunting site and also part of their culture and history. The main driving forces of deforestation in this part of the world are illegal wood traffics, the farming of bovines and the production of biofuel, to the detriment of the natives
Last but not least, the Amazon rainforest is the place hosting the highest number of indigenous tribes in the world: they are estimated at about 77 by the Brazilian government. These populations live hidden and just want to stay isolated from the rest of the world, living with their own lifestyle and culture. But they are threatened and run the risk of extinction due to the loss of their hunting fields, their cultural identities and their territories. Many tribes chiefs haven already spoken and stood up against this phenomenon, such as Almir Narayamoga Surui in order to get hep from governments for their protection and their preservation. “In the Mato Grosso do Sul, soy and ethanol that you consume are mixed with the guarani-kaiowa blood”, Vilharva-Caceres, an tribe representant.
WHY DOES THIS PROBLEM EXIST?[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
The Amazon rainforest is considered by the scientific community as the entity having the highest impact on the renewing of oxygen at a world scale.
We generally estimate that the Amazon rainforest is home to about 250000 endangered people.
80% of trees are cut illegally before entering the European market with fake identity papers as there is no law existing in order to control the flows. Forester companies take advantage of the lack of means, controls and also of the corruption of the authorities.
In the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, forests are destroyed in order to create fields for bovines that will be used to make leather products for developped countries and to send the wood abroad.
Native populations are threatened and continuously kicked out because of the decrease of the forest caused by the deforestation and most of the tributes are endangered because their living space is diminishing, animals and plants from which they feed themselves are disappearing and they have to flee deforestation firms. Not only do they live under the threats of companies, but are they also victims of diseases and illnesses brought by strangers, and against which they are not protected.
The seriousness of this ecological and social phenomenon is alarming; high numbers of tribes have already completely disappeared or some only have one or two members left and are seriously endangered. According to the Brazilian law, the Awá tribe’s territory should benefit from a protection which has, until now, never been insured by the authorities.
WHAT BREAKTHROUGH ARE YOU COMMITED TO CREATING?[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
Through the years, the focus on environmental issues has been getting higher and higher due to the consequences we have seen on our Earth. There are many environmental problems that we talk about nowadays such as the melting of ice, the extinction of many animal species, etc.
Several action plans already exist but in our opinion, some of them are not well adapted to the situation, such as the inexistance of laws against the illegal wood flows. For example, for COP21, an international convention about climate change, that is going to take place in December’15, Brazil promise to eradicate the illegal deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest.
We would like people to realize the consequences of deforestation at its different levels, social and ecological, and to raise awareness according to the future of the Amazon Rainforest and its threatened indigenious populations.
Our breakthrough would be to raise awareness by informing people about the critical situation that faces the Amazon Rainforest and what would be the consequences of its disappearance; to protect the entire ecosystem from the deforestation, so that natives could have a safe place to live; to regulate deforestation.
Potential expert:
Zero Deforestation NGP. 5/10
