Proactive Response to Negative Human Impacts

Population growth is imperative to the preservation of tropical rain forests because sustenance farming is very common in these types of environments. Unfortunately, such techniques cause the soil to erode after the areas have been cleared. With increased demand from population growth, new areas are constantly having to be cut out since the soil is not given a chance to recover as a result of these farming techniques. Logging is also very common in tropical rain forests because their wood is highly valued for the lumber industry. To stop this unhealthy trend, we could restrict logging to certain areas in the rain forest, which has already happened in Costa Rica. Over half of Costa Rica’s tropical rain forests are protected by national parks, wildlife refuges, or biological reserves. Industrialized agriculture also causes major problems. Techniques used in industrialized agriculture could include slash and burn, monoculture, and introduction of harmful species of plants and/or animals. Unfortunately many of the forests are concentrated in the hands of the wealthy who benefit greatly from these kinds of techniques. So change can be difficult, but it is possible. Government programs can offer incentives to sustainably farmed tropical rain forests. Other countries can also follow Costa Rica’s example and allow their public programs to protect their rain forests, which would drastically reduce overfarming. Bamboo based technology has also become popular in places like Costa Rica, where governments have taken a proactive response to deforestation. This encourages the use of bamboo as primary building material to provide low cost housing places like Costa Rica that have many rural areas.