Ecological ForestryThe Bigger Picture
"If tropical forests continue to be cleared at the current rate, at least 225 million hectares (556 million acres) will be cleared by th eyear 2000; if destruction of the tropical rain forests continues unabated, an estimated 10 to 20 per cent of the earth's plant and animal life will be gone by the year 2000."
J. Gustave Speth, President, World Resources Institute
Much of what we consider our wildlife is not just our wildlife. It travels north or south on migration routes and is susceptible to acid rain and other pollution from as far away as the middle of the continent.
Many of the same migrants facing pressure in their Canadian nesting grounds face equal pressure in their winter habitat and along the migration routes themselves. As more tropical rain-forests are lost to bulldozers and slash-and-burn farming, we can expect to see fewer and fewer of these migrants. This is just one of many reasons tropical deforestation must be stopped. Yet it is not enough to stop the cutting of the rainforest. We must set a good example in the rest of North America - in fact, far less damage has been done to the rainforests than to the forests of this continent, although they are quickly catching up.
What you can do:1. Join a rainforest action group and try to look at the big picture. It is not enough to tell people to preserve their trees because we are worried about global warming. We must provide markets for other forest products, such as the wide variety of nuts now being sustainably harvested. These groups also work to get governments and banks to cooperate in debt for land swaps, so that pressure is removed to liquidate every available asset.
World Wildlife Fund 60 St. Clair Ave. East, Suite 201 Toronto, Ontario M4T 1N5 Friends of the Earth 251 Lau0rier Ave. West, Suite 701 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5J6 The Rainforest Action Network 301 Broadway, Suite A San Francisco, California 94133 Western Canada Wilderness Committee 20 Water St. Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1A4 The Rain Forest Foundation P.O. Box 757 Plainville, Connecticut 06062 Probe International 100 College Street Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L52. Make sure our own governments are protecting Canadian forests and harvesting them in a sustainable manner, one that benefits humans and wildlife. Local groups here are working on these issues, as well as national and international organizations.
Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island 126 Richmond St., Rm. 1 Charlottetown, P.E.I. C1A 1H9 Conservation Council of N.B. 180 St. John St. Fredericton, N.B E3B 4A9 Ecology Action Centre 3115 Veith St., 3rd floor Halifax, N.S. B3K 3G9 Canada's Future Forest Alliance Box 224 New Denver, B.C. V0G 1S03. Keep up the pressure for clean air legislation (reducing global warming and acid rain) and ecological reserves worldwide. These are just a few of the many groups working on these key environmental issues.
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society 160 Bloor St. East, Suite 1150 Toronto, Ont. M4W 1B9 Pollution Probe 12 Madison Ave. Toronto, Ontario M5R 2S1 Greenpeace Canada 578 Bloor St. West Toronto, Ontario M6G 1K14. Recycle paper and use recycled paper products whenever possible. For every ton of paper produced, 17 trees die. Recycled paper requires 50% less energy to produce than virgin paper and its manufacture results in 35% less water pollution. Reusing paper is the first step (computer paper printed on one side only and envelopes are much too valuable to use only once). When you must buy paper and paper products, look for recycled paper with a high content of `post-consumer waste'. This means that it has a lot of fibre recovered from office paper recycling programs.
The Paper Source, Fallbrook, Ontario K0G 1A0,is one good outlet, and many printers and stationery stores now carry supplies made from recycled material.
Previous NextThis series of webpages is based on the booklet "Wildlife and Woodlands - What you can Do !" written by Gary Schneider. This booklet reflects the views of the Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island independent of federal and provincial government departments. If your interested in receiving a hardcopy of this booklet, please see our publications page. Web development and maintenance by Chris Martin.

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This series of webpages is based on the booklet "Wildlife and Woodlands - What you can Do !" written by