Pareto principle - solution to the environmental crisis?

Dr Gary Robertshaw

The Pareto Principle is named after the economist Vilfredo Pareto. In its broadest sense it states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes. It's also commonly known as the 80/20 rule. For example, in a business context, 80% of sales coming from 20% of a company's customers. The precise split may change and the 80/20 rule is not always exact, but in essence the principle makes the point that there is an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs. 'Not all customers are equal'.

Pareto also has wider applications in areas such as biology and problem solving. It's very often the case that small changes to one specific area can cause significant overall changes. In an environmental setting, take bees as an example. Whilst only one insect amongst the huge number of different insect species, if bees were to go extinct then it would have quite profound consequences for food production.

Likewise, it could be argued that a relatively small number of changes could have a significant impact on the planet. Two such changes are beef consumption and family planning.

1. Replacement of beef with viable plant-based substitutes

Beef production requires massive amounts of land, energy, and water, and is fuelling destruction of the rainforests – the lungs of the Earth. Globally, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all the world’s transportation systems combined! As well as deforestation, it also takes 48 times as much water to produce beef compared to vegetables.

2. Greater education and empowerment of girls

The human population is growing unsustainably and putting huge pressure on natural resources, which are being consumed faster than being replaced. Where girls are better educated as children, and treated as equal to men in adulthood, with freedom of choice in marriage and access to freely available contraception then birth rates tend to decline. There are many good examples of this correlation.

Currently, there is a lack of political will and investment to address point 1, which is why we are rapidly losing the rainforests as they are cleared for rearing cattle. In tandem, there is religious resistance to point 2. Many patriarchal societies sadly prefer the status quo.

Taken in combination, these two changes alone would have a dramatic impact on the well-being of the planet. Of course, other positive actions also play a part such as eliminating plastics, tree planting, protecting endangered species, renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions, and many other laudable initiatives.

The point though, is to move away from the erroneous notion that saving the planet is too difficult and that many complex changes are needed. In fact, a few small changes in order of priority, following the Pareto Principle, would make a major difference.

Shoot the messenger – the scandal of the Amazonian rainforest killings

Dr Gary Robertshaw

In 2005, a 73-year-old US-born Catholic nun and activist named Dorothy Stang was murdered in Brazil. Dorothy had been campaigning to protect the Amazonian rainforest for four decades. The murderers were killers hired by local landowners. Those responsible for clearing the rainforests can’t win the moral argument as their actions are based on greed and personal gain at any cost. So, instead, they resort to killing those who try to stop them.

The killing of Dorothy Stang was high profile but it certainly wasn’t an isolated incident. In May 2011, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo, a husband and wife team of activists who dedicated many years fighting against illegal deforestation, paid the ultimate price when they were shot dead following numerous death threats.

This situation is not recent either. As far back as April 1996 there was the "massacre of Eldorado de Carajás", in which 19 rural protesters were killed when Brazilian police opened fire on a crowd of peasant farmers who were holding a peaceful demonstration against illegal logging.
The Catholic Church's Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), which has documented rural violence in Brazil since the 1980s, has counted hundreds of such killings. There is a long history of intimidation, kidnappings and death threats against people trying to protect the rainforests. Many are murdered without anyone ever hearing about it.

Little is heard of these killings in the mass media and larger corporations who are indirectly linked to rainforest destruction are conspicuously quiet on the subject. Such is media apathy that campaigners are often derided as ‘tree huggers’ with headlines instead dedicated to footballers’ affairs, ‘reality’ TV shows and celebrity gossip.

The latest candidate for execution is Raimundo Francisco Belmiro dos Santos, a campaigner for protecting the Amazonian rainforest. His only crime is speaking out against the illegal loggers and those trying to destroy the rainforests. Apparently, landowners in the northern state of Pará have offered a 50,000 dollar contract for his death. He has already received numerous death threats against him and his family.

Clearly, large corporations are not directly involved in violence and intimidation of this nature. However, the lead up to deforestation often begins with groups of illegal ‘land grabbers’ known as ‘grileiros’ who invade and seize land belonging to others often with forged documents. This is backed up with intimidation and violence. This illegally obtained land is then sold to large landowners. And that is how much of the large-scale deforestation occurs.

Environmentalists have stressed the need to draw attention to the dreadful situation occurring in the Amazon and to highlight the plight of both campaigners and innocent people caught up in the violence and intimidation. For this to happen there needs to be much greater global awareness through the media of what is really going on, genuine commitment from the large corporations to disassociate themselves from rainforest destruction coupled with concerted efforts by Brazilian and international governments to tackle the problem. Those responsible for the threats, shootings and killings need to be brought to justice. The price of failure is no less than the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Kenya’s forests and the legacy of Wangari Maathai

Dr Gary Robertshaw

Over the last 30 years, vast swathes of Kenya’s forests have been ruthlessly felled for fuel wood, building materials and other uses. Abusing nature in this way always results in a payback. In Kenya’s case it has been rising temperatures, increased droughts and persistent water crises.

 

The situation faced in Kenya mirrors that seen in countries such as Sudan. Population growth and expansion of human activity into previously untouched areas also play a part. John Michuki, minister for the environment, says: “Serious droughts have occurred in the last four years, major rivers show reduced volume, and many seasonal ones completely dry up. The consequent crop failures in 2009 placed an estimated 10 million Kenyans, or one in four of the population, at risk of malnutrition.”

 

There is, however, some hope that the bleak situation facing Kenya can be reversed or at least halted. The hope comes in the form of the legacy of the late Wangari Maathai, the Nobel prize-winning founder of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya. This movement has now secured government support to plant 450m trees each year. There are grand ambitions. The movement wants to enlist the help of thousands of schools, women’s groups and youth organisations to plant tree nurseries and hep to reverse the effects of illegal logging.

 

It is clear that the Kenyan government must act fast if it is to avert ecological disaster. Its main priority now is to protect the country's five great forests – the upland areas of Mount Kenya, the Aberdares, Mount Elgon, the Mau Forest and the Cherangani Hills. Together, these areas provide over 90% of Kenya’s water and electricity, storing rain in the wet seasons and pumping it out via the rivers during the dry months.

 

"We are vastly affected by climate change. The trends are now extreme. We are seeing adverse effects everywhere. When no crops grow, we have to seek aid. Our economy is greatly affected, so adaptation is our priority," says Moses Omedi, an official in the environment department.

 

It is to be hoped that Kenya’s efforts pay dividends and that the country can serve as an example to other African countries facing similar problems. In this respect, Wangari Maathai's legacy lives on.

New species of monkey discovered

Scientists have discovered what they believe to be a new species of monkey living in the northern eastern Myanmar region of Burma. The monkeys are distinctive in appearance due to their strange, upturned nostrils. The total population of this new species is estimated to be just 300 individuals and they are critically endangered. The new species has been named the Burmese snub-nosed monkey [read more]

Kenya’s forests and the legacy of Wangari Maathai

Over the last 30 years, vast swathes of Kenya’s forests have been ruthlessly felled for fuel wood, building materials and other uses. Abusing nature in this way always results in a payback. In Kenya’s case it has been rising temperatures, increased droughts and persistent water crises...[read more]

Shoot the messenger – the scandal of the rainforest killings

In 2005, a 73-year-old US-born Catholic nun and activist named Dorothy Stang was murdered in Brazil. Dorothy had been campaigning to protect the Amazonian rainforest for four decades. The murderers were killers hired by local landowners. Those responsible for clearing the rainforests can’t win the moral argument as their actions are based on greed and personal gain at any cost. So, instead, they resort to killing those who try to stop them.

The killing of Dorothy Stang was high profile but it certainly wasn’t an isolated incident. In May 2011, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo, a husband and wife team of activists who dedicated many years fighting against illegal deforestation, paid the ultimate price when they were shot dead following numerous death threats.

This situation is not recent either. As far back as April 1996 there was the "massacre of Eldorado de Carajás", in which 19 rural protesters were killed when Brazilian police opened fire on a crowd of peasant farmers who were holding a peaceful demonstration against illegal logging.

The Catholic Church's Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), which has documented rural violence in Brazil since the 1980s, has counted hundreds of such killings. There is a long history of intimidation, kidnappings and death threats against people trying to protect the rainforests. Many are murdered without anyone ever hearing about it.

Little is heard of these killings in the mass media and larger corporations who are indirectly linked to rainforest destruction are conspicuously quiet on the subject. Such is media apathy that campaigners are often derided as ‘tree huggers’ with headlines instead dedicated to footballers’ affairs, ‘reality’ TV shows and celebrity gossip.

The latest candidate for execution is Raimundo Francisco Belmiro dos Santos, a campaigner for protecting the Amazonian rainforest. His only crime is speaking out against the illegal loggers and those trying to destroy the rainforests. Apparently, landowners in the northern state of Pará have offered a 50,000 dollar contract for his death. He has already received numerous death threats against him and his family.

Clearly, large corporations are not directly involved in violence and intimidation of this nature. However, the lead up to deforestation often begins with groups of illegal ‘land grabbers’ known as ‘grileiros’ who invade and seize land belonging to others often with forged documents. This is backed up with intimidation and violence. This illegally obtained land is then sold to large landowners. And that is how much of the large-scale deforestation occurs.

Environmentalists have stressed the need to draw attention to the dreadful situation occurring in the Amazon and to highlight the plight of both campaigners and innocent people caught up in the violence and intimidation. For this to happen there needs to be much greater global awareness through the media of what is really going on, genuine commitment from the large corporations to disassociate themselves from rainforest destruction coupled with concerted efforts by Brazilian and international governments to tackle the problem. Those responsible for the threats, shootings and killings need to be brought to justice. The price of failure is no less than the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Major success in protecting Amazon rainforest

Brazil’s second largest beef exporter, Bertin, has agreed to review its entire supply chain to ensure that none of its sources are involved with deforestation, slave labour or land grabbing. The move follows intensive campaigning by Greenpeace through its ‘Slaughtering the Amazon’ report. Other successes include Marfig, one of the largest beef producers and further pledges from Clarks, Nike, Timberland, Geox and Adidas.

"Bertin's decision should pave the way for the modernisation of the Brazilian cattle industry", said Sarah Shoraka, Greenpeace Forests campaigner. "Given the sheer size of both Bertin and Marfrig's operations, this commitment will have real impact on driving down Amazon deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Greenpeace will closely monitor the moratorium's implementation to ensure its success.”

Whilst there is no room for complacency it’s heartening to hear of Greenpeace’s success and it is to be hoped that other major brands follow suit. The task won’t be easy as deforestation continues apace with the criminal network behind the killings of rainforest campaigners still at large. Clearly, greater transparency in tracking supply sources coupled with exposure of those brands still involved in deforestation are major factors in protecting the Amazon and its inhabitants.

http://www.green-providers.co.uk/rainforest_success_79.html

Is Africa's wildlife being eaten to extinction?

Rapid growth in the global demand for bushmeat is leaving many African species facing the possibility of being eaten out of existence. Whereas traditional bushmeat hunting was a subsistence activity it’s now a multi-billion dollar international trade involving hundreds of species including elephants and primates.

Commercial logging and road building has also given hunters easy access to previously impenetrable African forests, and ready-made transport routes to towns and cities.

It is estimated that more than a quarter of all mammal species hunted for bushmeat are threatened with extinction.

Blow to promise on stopping illegal timber imports

The coalition is being accused of back-tracking on its commitment to stopping imports of illegal timber and is a further dent in the credibility of David Cameron's promise to lead the "greenest government ever".

According to the Guardian, the government will not now honour a pledge to make it a criminal offence to possess, or bring into the country, illegal timber. Campaigners say such legal measures are necessary to help curb the 350m-650m square metres of forest that is illegally logged every year – possibly as much as 40% of the total market.

Green campaigners are highly disappointed at the apparent dropping of more stringent measures on illegal timber because the coalition document explicitly committed the two parties to introducing "measures to make the import or possession of illegal timber a criminal offence."

Protecting the rainforests is vital in the fight against climate change and preserving endangered species.

Concern over Serengeti road plans

A group of scientists writing in the journal Nature has appealed against a road planned in the Serengeti National Park, saying it would cause an environmental disaster and curtail wildebeest migration. The migration of the wildebeest was the "largest remaining migratory system on Earth", they said.

Instead, the scientists have proposed an alternative road running to the south of the park. However, there has been pressure to start building the 50km stretch of road through the north of the Serengeti due to increasing economic interest in central African mineral wealth. The planned road would form part of a link between Tanzania's coast and Lake Victoria, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The proposed road could lead to the collapse of the largest remaining migratory system on Earth - a system that drives Tanzania's tourism trade and supports thousands of people," the appeal said.

Buying pieces of rainforest through organisations such as the World Land Trust is one way of helping to protect rainforests and wildlife habitats threatened by so-called ‘economic development’.

Chatting chimpanzees are 'socially aware'

Primatologists have discovered that chimpanzees are aware of the social impact of their communications, and use a variety of calls and gestures.

Even more surprisingly, researchers found that chimps will actually change what they "say" depending on who is listening at the time. This represents an important finding because it reveals a previously unrecognised social awareness that may even have implications for the origin of human language.

Details of the discovery have been published in the journal Animal Behaviour.

Up until now, the high level of awareness of the potential social consequences of calling has not been shown in any non-human primate.

It also appears that chimpanzees are biologically programmed to appreciate pleasant music!

The more we learn about our closest evolutionary relations the more we realise just how close we are and why it’s so important to protect species and the environment on which they depend. In particular, its imperative that we do everything possible to protect the rainforests.

'Great Green Wall of Africa' to halt Sahara

There are plans to plant a tree belt all the way across Africa, running from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east, in an effort to halt the advance of the Sahara Desert.

If it goes ahead, the tree belt would be 15km wide and nearly 8,000km long. The project is still tentative because there are concerns about lack of funding and longer term doubts regarding its maintenance.

The trees that would be planted are more drought resistant, helping to reduce soil erosion, slowing wind speeds and helping rain water to filter into the ground thereby holding back the desert.

Tropical rainforests

Tropical rainforests took up to 100 million years to evolve and are believed to be the oldest and most complex land-based ecosystem on earth, containing over 30 million species of plants and animals. That's half of the Earth's wildlife and at least two-thirds of its plant species!

Some interesting facts: A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies. Rainforests provide many important medicinal products, including those used in the treatment of cancer.

"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Palm oil and rainforests

When doing your weekly shop look out for products that contain an ingredient that is leading to the destruction of rainforests, putting the orang-utan at risk of extinction and causing widespread environmental devastation. The ingredient in question is palm oil. It’s surprisingly common in many of the everyday products bought in supermarkets, including biscuits, sweets, confectionaries, margarines, breads, crisps and bars of soap. Palm oil is a cheap source of vegetable oil. The problem is that it is being grown primarily on land that was once home to the vast rainforests of Borneo, the natural habitat of the orang-utan. According to a recent BBC report, it’s estimated that only 3% of the world’s palm oil comes from certified sustainable sources. Further, the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the orang-utan population has declined by 50% in recent decades while the Indonesian government has acknowledged that 50,000 orang-utans have died as a result of de-forestation. It gets worse. Greenpeace has identified the draining of ancient peat lands to make way for palm oil as a global threat, leading to huge amounts of trapped methane being released into the atmosphere. Consequently, Indonesia is now the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind only America and China. Every time a shopper buys a product from a supermarket that contains palm oil he or she is effectively fuelling the destruction of the Borneo rainforests and hastening the demise of the orang-utan. So what can be done? It’s important not to underestimate consumer power. If the supermarkets can’t sell products containing palm oil then demand will dry up. However, supermarkets are in business to make a profit; they will largely ignore their impact on the environment if they can get away with it. That’s not just scepticism on our part. If supermarkets don’t label which of their products contain palm oil then it’s impossible for shoppers to actively exclude them from their shopping trolleys. Surprise, surprise then that current labelling laws allow supermarkets to list palm oil as 'vegetable' oil, without singling out the palm oil content, thereby preventing shoppers from identifying it in products. At this point we would like to congratulate Sainsbury’s supermarkets, who have taken a decision not only to single out palm oil on the ingredients list of their own-brand products, but to state directly that it is from a sustainable source. Other supermarkets have made feeble excuses such as arguing that their recipes can change and the amounts and types of oils they use can vary, making more detailed labels impractical. If that were really true, then how has Sainsbury’s overcome the problem? If you shop at Tesco, Asda, Safeway or Morrisons then why not e-mail them asking that they label products containing palm oil like Sainsbury’s now does? If they are unwilling to do this then tell them you will shop at Sainsbury’s instead. Supermarkets may not be concerned about the disappearance of rainforests but they will be concerned about losing customers to a competitor.

Some interesting facts about rainforests

Tropical rainforests took between 60 and 100 million years to evolve and are believed to be the oldest and most complex land-based ecosystem on earth, containing over 30 million species of plants and animals. That's half of the Earth's wildlife and at least two-thirds of its plant species! Rainforests have a central role to play in the slowing of climate change. Some interesting facts about rainforests (source: The Nature Conservancy) Facts about the Global Coverage of Rainforests: Fact: Covering less than 2 percent of the Earth's total surface area, the world's rainforests are home to 50 percent of the Earth's plants and animals. Fact: Rainforests are found on every continent across the Earth, except Antarctica. Fact: There are two major types of rainforest: temperate rainforests and tropical rainforests. Fact: Temperate rainforests used to exist on almost every continent in the world, but today only 50 percent – 75 million acres – of these forests remain worldwide. Facts about the Rainforest as Part of our Global Environment and Well-being: Fact: Rainforests act as the world's thermostat by regulating temperatures and weather patterns. Fact: One-fifth of the world’s fresh water is found in the Amazon Basin. Fact: Rainforests are critical in maintaining the Earth's limited supply of drinking and fresh water. Facts about the Abundant Life and Important Resources that Rainforests Share with Us: Fact: A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies. Fact: Rainforests provide many important products for people: timber, coffee, cocoa and many medicinal products, including those used in the treatment of cancer. Fact: Seventy percent of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer are found only in rainforests. Fact: More than 2,000 tropical forest plants have been identified by scientists as having anti-cancer properties. Fact: Less than one percent of the tropical rainforest species have been analyzed for their medicinal value. Facts about the Threats to Rainforests, Indigenous People and Species: Fact: Rainforests are threatened by unsustainable agricultural, ranching, mining and logging practices. Fact: Before 1500 A.D., there were approximately 6 million indigenous people living in the Brazilian Amazon. But as the forests disappeared, so too did the people. In the early 1900s, there were less than 250,000 indigenous people living in the Amazon. Fact: Originally, 6 million square miles of tropical rainforest existed worldwide. But as a result of deforestation, only 2.6 million square miles remain. Fact: At the current rate of tropical forest loss, 5-10 percent of tropical rainforest species will be lost per decade. Fact: Nearly 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods. Fact: Fifty-seven percent of the world’s forests, including most tropical forests, are located in developing countries. Fact: Every second, a slice of rainforest the size of a football field is mowed down. That's 86,400 football fields of rainforest per day, or over 31 million football fields of rainforest each year. Fact: More than 56,000 square miles of natural forest are lost each year. "A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt