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BOOK REVIEW

War and Tropical Forests

Conservation in Areas of Armed Conflict

Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) A.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia Current address: A.A. 26360, Cali, Valle, Colombia

(elsharkawy{at}telesat.com.co)

Edited by Steven V. Price, Food Products Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, 10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904. 2003. 219 p. $24.95 softcover. ISBN 1560220996.

Generally speaking, the gist of the message conveyed in this vital book, which is composed of eight highly documented, first-hand field reports authored by active experts in tropical forests affairs, who have studied the impacts of all kinds of armed conflicts on the tropical rainforests in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, is that:

The tropical rainforest, which is currently one of the richest habitats in biodiversity, invaluable natural resources and the last remaining frontier for the benefits of humanity and other organisms in the chain of food, is the silent victim of man-made greedy deforestation and bush-meat hunting, over-exploitation by indigenous as well as international profit-driven companies/groups which is aggravated by savage wars often aided by modern weapons. This onslaught, or bluntly said raping, of one of the primary chains in the biological production cycle in nature, is not only severely destructive but also criminal that warrants collective actions at all levels of human societies, states, national and international organisations, researchers, policy makers as well as environmentally and peace oriented movements.

Some of the important lessons to be learned from the first seven chapters are that armed conflicts in areas of tropical forests are having devastating impacts both via short- and long-term negative consequences. In the short term, the negative consequences can be illustrated by excessive deforestation, severe soil degradation, river and water-dam sedimentation due to torments of rainstorms and intensive water runoff, biodiversity losses, wildlife erosion, extreme poverty, human misery through unjustified loss of lives and displacements among poor local populations, and, above all, the widespread use of illicit-crop plantations at the expense of production of essential food and feed crops. The long-term negative consequences can be well illustrated by the enhancement of global climate changes through depriving the world of one of its largest carbon dioxide sinks or traps: the lush green and photosynthetically active tropical rainforests. Carbon dioxide gas is the primary material in photosynthesis, the main natural process for converting solar energy into useful organic substances. At the same time, the current elevated level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, due to human overconsumption of fossil fuel energy, causes significant rises in global temperature, a phenomenon well-known as the greenhouse effect. These dramatic changes in global climate, as have been documented in the last three decades, consequently have their adverse effects on the physical environment as a whole, on water cycles and global rainfall patterns and their temporal–spatial distribution, on changes in sea- and ocean-water levels due to melting of continental and polar ice sheets, on possible flooding of many lower sea coasts and some currently inhabited land areas, on bio-environments, and, most importantly, on the quality of human life.

The book also illustrates that conservationist groups, partially supported by various environmentally and humanely oriented organisations and donors, have been bravely striving to protect, conserve, and better-manage existing natural resources. As well, they also are trying to preserve invaluable biodiversity in tropical forests, often under life-threatening conditions. Nevertheless, to be more effective these conservationist groups need to collaborate with and link their efforts to local communities, with other advocacy groups, and, ironically enough, with the war-instigating forces. Otherwise their programs will not survive.

The last chapter outlines and discusses some legal developments and international conventions and laws that may help prevent, remediate, or punish wartime damage to tropical forests. Liability mechanisms to provide compensation for wartime damage, among other legal regulations, are considered.

This book must not only be read in order to raise our awareness about what is going on in tropical rainforests, but also the many constructive recommendations provided by the various authors should be acted upon by all those concerned with environmentally sound social and economic development worldwide.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by El-Sharkawy, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by El-Sharkawy, M. A. Agricola Articles by El-Sharkawy, M. A.