| |  | |
Forest
Myth-
conceptions? | | |
 PEOPLE
 Forests are good
for people?
Yes -
trees and forests do provide people
with many goods and services
such as
timber, fuel, fruits, oils, resins, drugs, fibres,
wildlife, shade, moisture, and soil stability.
But they do have their downside -
forests can harbour enemies, impede access,
and tie up land for settlements and soil for crops.
That is why the development of civilisations
has usually gone hand-in-hand with the disappearance of forests -
they are just too useful!
People are good
for forests?
It is not necessarily true that indigenous forest dwellers
always have the interest of their forests at heart.
Like all people,
if they see and want a more technologically advanced type of lifestyle
- rightly or wrongly -
they will be content to liquidate their forest resources
to achieve that lifestyle.
However,
local communities will usually want to look after neighbouring forests
if they know it can provide benefits for them,
and they have a chance to participate in looking after it.
People are bad for
forests?
It is not necessarily true
that the best way of preserving a piece of unique, biodiverse forest
is to exclude people from it.
If local people receive no benefit from it,
they will not want to help protect the forest.
And the argument that people must be kept out
to maintain vital ecosystem functions
does not carry much weight.
Almost all of the natural forests of the world
have had some people living in or near them,
forming part of the wider ecosystem.
This includes the so-called pristine wilderness areas.
Indigenous
knowledge is best
To be written
People don't plant
trees if they don't
own the land
To be written
Forestry is only done
in rural areas?
To be written
|
