Sunday, October 7, 2012

Crime and cartels are responsible for much of the Tropical Deforestation

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/organized-crime-deforestation-un-report_n_1930063.html?utm_hp_ref=green


The United Nations Environment Program released a statistic that stated, “organized crime is responsible for 50- 90% of illegal logging” in the Amazon, Africa, and South East Asia. Due to lessening in regulation and new concealment techniques used by criminals, many cartels are able to illegally cut down and transport lumber across large distances. Because demand for tropical forest lumber is on the rise, organized crime is making a fortune on the illegal timber trade.  The UNEP states it is up to combined nations to stop this illegal practice. Without international unity in handling this problem, cartels will be able to slip their cargo throughout many different countries. What will happen if these criminals continue their trade unchecked? With the rapid decline of the rainforest as it is, these criminals will increase the rate in which the rainforests are destroyed. In my opinion the best way to combat this problem is for nations to work together like the UNEP said and crack down on inspecting forged permits and inspect travelers entering and leaving rainforest areas.

5 comments:

  1. I agree that the cartels and criminals need to be stopped. What blows my mind is how tropical rainforest lumber is a huge demand. There are other trees to get lumber from. it doesn't have to be from the rainforest.

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  2. I think it is really sad that people have come to the point of cutting down trees for money. Even though tropical forest lumber does make a fortune, some people do not care that they are disturbing nature. “The UNEP states that it is up to combined nations to stop this illegal practice.” So, this means if the countries don’t work together and try and catch these guys, the rainforests will be destroyed. All they have to is get surveillance to watch these large areas that are being attacked. It is very important that these nations find the people responsible for messing up the rainforests so it can be stopped as soon as possible.

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  3. I agree with Lexi. That is sad that deforestation is a source of income now. There are other ways of making money that do not involve killing plants and trees.

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  4. i agree with Evan that the cartels need to be stopped. If they keep on taking the trees over and over again illegally then how many trees they take cant be monitored. If they keep taking these trees then the tree supply is just going to get lower and lower. Many animals have habitats in trees and these loggers are destroying them, trees provide for many species and are very vital to an ecosystem. Without them it would destroy the habitat that surrounds them.

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  5. It is totally sad how peoples need for greed and hate is gone to such a distance as to not just killing one another, but killing the growing life in those forest. Those trees we homes to many living things and now they are gone animals having to find a new home some even dying because they are not able to adapt to the environment. This is such a disappointment on to what the human race is capable of doing to innocent creatures. It's defiantly not the world I wanna be living in.

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