Rainforests are our future

By Robert Grassmann
 

Plants and animals have always provided
mankind with food. © BoleschWithout biological diversity, or biodiversity as the experts call it, life on earth would not be possible. Plants and animals have always provided mankind with food, textiles, medicines, building materials and fuel. Agriculture too is reliant on the abundance of species and the steady formation of soils. In intact ecosystems there is an ecological balance in which complex food chains have developed. Even if only one animal species or plant species disappears, the ecosystem is disrupted. This can have very far-reaching consequences. Due to climate change, extreme natural events such as droughts or floods that contribute to the endangering of the ecosystem are becoming more frequent. Such natural events not infrequently escalate into local disasters.

Peasants frequently have to
live hand-to-mouth

The loss of biological diversity harms particularly the poor

It is above all the people in developing countries who are affected by it: on the one hand, they live in areas which often have to contend with destructive natural events; on the other hand, they have scant opportunities to protect themselves from the consequences. These disasters undo many successes of development cooperation.  

The focus of Welthungerhilfe: food security and nature conservation

For years now, Welthungerhilfe and its partner organisations have been promoting the sustainable use of natural resources in the project countries. Up to now, the main focus has been on achieving lasting improvements in nutrition and on increasing incomes. But in recent years Welthungerhilfe has paid increasing attention to also incorporating nature conservation areas in project support measures so that they don't disappear. This is intended to make a contribution to climate protection and the protection of biodiversity. Both are essential in order to reduce the effects of extreme natural events, and therefore to create a basic pre-condition for sustainable development.     

Consequences of climate
change: hurricanes are
destroying whole areas.  Breaking the vicious circle - preventing over-exploitation

In many regions of the world a vicious circle of poverty, hunger, climate change and over-exploitation of natural resources has arisen: first, parts of the forests are made usable for agriculture through slash-and-burn clearances. If the agricultural yields then decline within a few years due to the reducing fertility of the soil, the area is then used as pasture. As a result, a new piece of land must be cleared for agricultural use. This means the farmers penetrate deeper and deeper into the forest, and the destruction of the unique natural landscape grows even greater. The increasing extreme natural events, such as intense rainfall or droughts, reinforce the negative effects of the destruction of the rainforest still further. The small farmers are however dependent on agriculture. They need the forests for the felling of timber for use in construction and as firewood. 
 

Aim: The preservation of Central American nature conservation areas

This is where the joint Oro Verde and Welthungerhilfe project, which has arisen in the area around three important nature conservation areas in Cuba, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, is starting up. Because only when the people who live there have a secure livelihood will it be possible to conserve the protected areas on a lasting basis. The aim of the cooperation is to protect the unique natural environment in the respective project areas on a lasting basis, whilst at the same time improving the quality of life of the local population.