Amazonian Manatee is under extinguishing risk. It's not the only one...Why?

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The list of the animals in extinguishing risk is alarmingly long. Do have a look at the inventory of threatened birds, in Brazil, at

www.ib.usp.br/ceo/areasch/areasbras.htm

The case of Amazonian Manatee, as the ones of the birds, is obvious: threatened and disappearing forests take with them an enormous variety of species, many of them not even identified by man.

There are registers of subspecies existing at only a tree or at a small group of trees. It is not difficult to imagine what happens when the trees are knocked down. Neither it is difficult to conceive the amount of species that we don't even dream, in the millions of squared kilometers of existing forests in the Amazon and at other places of the world.

It's worth to watch the beautiful maps that Greenpeace elaborated, making the complete survey of the unbroken forests and of the threatened forests of the planet where we live. What a beautiful work…

www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/forests/our-disappearing-forests/intact-forest-landscapes

A few days ago, when I wrote about Amazon, we related the plantation of soy, the introduction of cattle and the wood extration as three of the main factors of pressure on the integrity of the Amazonian forest. It is not very different at other places.

Observing the great variety of positions, initiatives and attitudes taken in relation to the forests of the world, either through the Internet, either in books, the academic or political debates, what we have basicly are 3 alternatives: 1. That the forest is untouchable, exception made for its historical natives, 2. That there is sustainable handling. 3. That people knock down the forest to give place to other cultures or to other alternatives of production.

My personal affection, I confess, goes for the first one of the alternatives: there are other spaces in the planet to produce anything, many times with ambient profits, as can be the case of forest bulks developed for industrial uses. It is also necessary to allow to leave, however, the absurd amount of NGOs of all type, that in forms supposedly disinterested, comes to infest wealthy regions as the Amazon, always with strange linkings to ambitious foreign powers.

Sustainable handling is more than controversial in the majority of the cases, tending to suppress the variety and to introduce a "fordist" homogeneity demanded by the market and provoking the disaster that already is of the knowledge of all, in what respects to the animal species. It does not reach, moreover, according to International Tropical Woods Organization (ITWO) 5% of the 814 million hectares studied for the organization and that represent 66% of all natural tropical forests in the world.

The third alternative is a crime of injure-humanity committed in damage of all, also of the future generations and in benefit of half a dozen of unscrupulous and insensitive. I include in it the use of GMOs. It's meeting with the forest, in the soy fronts, for example, will certainly contribute to speed up jungle's death.
Unfortunately, a big and important nation as Brazil is, has just excluded the civil society of the CTNbio, unconstitutional government institution that decides in the country on the introduction of genetically modified seeds.

We need, in the truth, to pass to the offensive in the forest/ambient question, finding the ways to make the native forests grow again in its original compositions and not to continue in this fight more or less despaired to defend what we know can't be defended the usual ways.

I detach here the disposal of governor Roberto Requião, of southern state of Paraná, in Brazil, to support practical experimentations on non-polluting noble chemical substance extration from these approximately 20% of biomass that the forest liberates annually in its natural renewal.

Told me an argentinian ambientalist friend of mine, that even this way it is dangerous to extract these substances, but I clarified that in Paraná State the law will only allow the activity to whom will be increasing the native forest and reintroducing local animal species.

No trees falling; only collection of twigs, deceased trees and leves. Only if the native forest is being extended in agreement with handling plans approved by the ambient authority and if traditional animal species of the region are being reintroduced.

It seems excessively romantic. However, for each 5 hectares, the equivalent in biomass to one hectare will be available for production, annually. This type of activity will be much more lucrative than any other one, even if, at a first moment we do not mention its enormous touristic potential.

In this line and being determined exactly to retake the offensive, we are considering the creation of the Reserve of the Araucárias (Araucaria Angustifolia), (public, in part; private, in part) with about 500.000 hectares and being situated in the Argentine province of Misiones, that is mesopotamic between the rivers Uruguay and Paraná, more specifically among the reserves of Yaboti and Urugua-i, in order to guarantee the perpetuation of the forest with Araucária, empire of the Araucaria Angustifolia, magnificent and threatened of extinguishing with everything that folloies it, beyond others enormous ambient profits. Watch, please, the excellent document of the WWF on the region:

www.wwf.org.br/natureza_brasileira/meio_ambiente_brasil/mata_atlantica/mata_atlantica_acoes_resultados/solucaomata2/ecorregiao_florestas_do_alto_parana/index.cfm

Sailing to the address above, you will find, to the right and down of the virtual page, the access to the pdf of the WWF, very brightly elaborated, on the region, in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

We are in contact with people of the region. Opportunely we will contact the authorities. If you want to work in the project, contact us. There are innumerable ways to participate! This is true to whom also lives in the region and also for you that is reading me.

We want to make in the place a first experience of an untouched reserve with respectful exploitation, in permanent expansion, that later can be taken to other regions of the world.

One more time I am thankful here to the CNBB for the initiative of dedicating its campaign of the fraternity of 2007 to the Amazon, what's very important to all the forests on Earth.

Thank you very much,

Emilio de Lima,

Save the Amazon.