Protecting forest is not enough to prevent deforestation

Roger Harris — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 15:23:43 +0000

Deforestation of peat swamp forest for oil palm plantation in Indragiri Hulu, Riau Province, Sumatra. (Image and caption courtesy of Wikipedia.)

An article in PhysOrg reports on a study by Biodiversity Professionals member Román Carrasco. The study shows that simply setting aside an area of forest is not an effective conservation strategy. According to the report, a more effective approach would be to monitor and prevent road construction within protected areas. Also, the study showed that limiting activity in illegal logging hotspots would be a better approach than just relying protected areas.”

While the study was conducted in Indonesia (which has suffered among the fastest rates of deforestation in recent decades), its findings have broad implications for other regions.

Perhaps the main take home of this work is that just as the causes of deforestation are complex, so are the solutions. Simply fencing off an area and limiting human access is not enough. Protection of forested areas must be supported by other approaches. Community engagement is crucial, in particular, education and buy-in of local people on the benefits of intact forest. Enforcement of existing laws, likewise needs to complement conservation efforts. And again, these must support other conservation strategies, such as restoration of degraded land adjacent to protected areas. (Conservation organization SavingSpecies is an example of this approach being implemented.)

There is no one solution to deforestation. It is a complex and ever-changing mix of different approaches. Only by understanding this, and developing the necessary tools and models, can we hope to ever conserve Earth’s fast-dwindling biodiversity.

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