A2GEOGRAPHYREVISIONTROPICAL ENVIRONMENTS

7.4 SUSTAINABLEMANAGEMENTOFTROPICALAREAS

KEYTERMSANDDEFINITIONSSustainable agroforestry is a form of sustainable development in which the people farm the forest.Ranching is large-scale commercial agriculture in which large numbers of animals are raised on extensive farms.Monoculture is a form of arable agriculture which concentrates on the production of just one crop.Community forest refers to large areas of forest in which villagers obtain and manage part of the communal forest for a long period of time.Trophy hunting is a form of ecotourism which involves the hunting of large game such as elephant and buffalo.

TOPICSUMMARYThe Popoluca Indians of Santa Rosa, Mexico practise a form of sustainable agriculture that resembles shifting cultivation, known as the milpa system. As in a rainforest, the crops are multi-layered, with tree, shrub and herb layers.

● Ranching prevents the natural succession of vegetation because of a lack of seed from nearby forests and the grazing effects of cattle.● Extensive monoculture is increasingly mechanised, and uses large inputs of fertiliser, pesticides and insecticides.● Community forests, such as Korup National Park, are large areas of forest in which villagers obtain and manage part of the communal forest for a long period of time.

TOPICSUMMARYCAMPFIRE (Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources) is a programme designed to assist rural development and conservation.

● Approximately 12 per cent of Zimbabwe is protected as National Parks or conservation areas.● Five main activities help provide extra income to local communities: trophy hunting, selling live animals, harvesting natural resources, tourism and selling wildlife meat.

ADDITIONALWORK1. What is meant by the term ‘sustainable agroforestry’? Illustrate your answer with examples.2. With the use of examples, examine the view that the main way to protect the environment is to make money from it.3. Briefly explain the impact of grazing and monoculture on tropical rainforests.4. What are the problems associated with sustainable management of savanna areas?5. Outline some of the options for sustainable management of savanna areas.6. Examine the main pressures facing areas of savanna or tropical rainforest.7. To what extent is it possible to manage areas of savanna or tropical rainforest in a sustainable way?

SUGGESTEDWEBSITEShttp://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415395168/resources/chapter27manual.pdf for a case study of conflicts of conservation and development in Paraguay.http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0821-cerrado.html for developments in Brazilian agriculture in the savanna.This site has some excellent statistics and links to other sites concerning the Brazilian rainforest and savanna.www.fao.org/docrep/v5200e/v5200e03.htm for silviculture for sustainable management of tropical moist forests.www.fao.org/docrep/w8212e/w8212e04.htm for principles of sustainable tropical forest management where wood production is the primary objective.www.tropenbos.org/index.php/en/what-we-do/co-management-in-protected-areas for co-management of tropical rain forests. There are some very detailed case studies to be found here (click on the links on the right-hand side of the screen).