Humans are a Threatened Species Too: The Real Life ‘Avatar’ Story

 Butler, RA. 2009. The real Avatar story: indigenous people fight to save their forest homes from corporate exploitation, San Francisco, CA. Available from http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1222-hance_avatar.html (accessed February 9, 2011).

Link to article: 

 http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1222-hance_avatar.html 

 

The exploitation of sacred human habitats in our world by industrial companies is not much different from what we see in the epic film ‘Avatar.’ The alien tribe, called the Na’vi, fight to protect their sacred lands from the human invaders on their planet with a hunger to snatch up highly profitable land. In reality, indigenous tribes fight, and most of the time fail (unlike their film counterparts) to keep their habitats safe and secure from the intense influence of industries and their military forces. This article explored some of the harshest battles that have, and are still occurring amongst industries and native tribes.

"Peruvian security forces killing indigenous protesters in Peru. Photo © 2009 Marijke Deleu" 

In June 2009, indigenous tribes of Peru protested against ranks of armies with machine guns and tear gas. These protests began as a result of regulations proposed by President Alan Garcia, which allowed easier entry onto their lands by industries who craved for the oil, timber and minerals that were available. Many police and tribal members were killed during the conflict. Protests by fuming tribes continue because they are not being contacted about further developments that continue to be planned. However, President Garcia has yet to change his mind about going through with the projects, saying that indigenous people are "confused savages", "barbaric", "second-class citizens", "criminals", and "ignorant.”

"Photos of an uncontacted tribe in the Terra Indigena Kampa e Isolados do Envira, Acre state, Brazil, near the border with Peru, caused a stir when they were released by Survival International, an NGO, in May 2008. The indigenous group is said to be threatened by oil exploration in the area. © Gleison Miranda/FUNAI."

The Penan tribe of Borneo Malaysia not only suffers from the exploitation of its ancestral lands, and tribal and burial sites by industrial loggers, but also endures such violent acts as rape and alleged murder at the hands of these intruders. The logging activities began in the 80s without any motion for recovery of forests or tribal habitats due to new developments such as palm oil plantations. The Penan have certainly attempted to fight back with lawsuits, road barricades, and declaration of a ‘peace park’ (an unofficial reserve) but when loggers have so much power in threatening their lives, there is little they can do. Many who have been extreme activists against the loggers, like former Penan chief, Kelesau Naan, have been allegedly murdered or have mysteriously disappeared. As for the rape cases of young girls, the government brushed it off as ‘good story-telling.’

In Ecuador, the indigenous tribes have filed a $27 billion lawsuit against Texaco, a company now owned by Chevron, for dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic waste into the Amazon rainforest between 1964-1990. This event is known as the ‘Amazon Chernobyl.’ The health of the tribes has been severely threatened by the toxic waste, which has already caused one tribe to disappear completely. A ruling has yet to be made on the lawsuit that began in 2003, and Chevron continues to remain stubborn in paying for any damages that have resulted: ‘"We're not paying and we're going to fight this for years if not decades into the future," according to Chevron spokesman Don Campbell.’

As miserable as it is, humans have the ability to extrapolate their anthropogenic effects on their own kind, simply to acquire resources that will increase their own fortune. These indigenous tribes are truly a part of an ecosystem in which natural resources are being exploited. In fact, they seem to resemble a concept that we have learned in class to be called an ‘externality,’ or hidden cost in these economic transactions with the environment. So…is it even possible to put these tribes on the ‘Vulnerable Species List?’

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Madagascar’s people and endemic species suffer as illegal logging of precious woods continues

WWF, 2011. WWF to Madagascar’s president: keep your promise and stop illegal logging. World Wildlife Fund International, Gland, Switzerland. Available from http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?198893/WWF-to-Madagascars-president-keep-your-promise-and-stop-illegal-logging (accessed January 2011).

Link to article:

http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?198893/WWF-to-Madagascars-president-keep-your-promise-and-stop-illegal-logging

Overexploitation that was already occurring in the northeastern forests of Madagascar escalated after a political crisis that occurred in 2009. This resulted in 20,000 hectares of one the most diverse forests in the world to be destroyed. Already known as one of the poorest countries of the world, loggers and villagers struck back, and rosewood mafia capable of bribing government officials set out to obtain trees for resources (Wikipedia 2011). Illegal logging of the precious woods continues, even after the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) stepped in with an online petition of 5000 signatures to protect the forests. Last October, the president of the transitional government on Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, met with WWF representatives to make an official declaration to cease logging of these woods. Rajoelina had made several claims that have yet to be fulfilled, including communicating with countries like China to cease the import of rosewood products and co-financing these actions with government funds. Management plans were also discussed, which were intended to be passed over to local authorities to secure the forests. However, no such action has taken place since the meeting, except for a ban on exporting precious redwood species being published as a listing in an appendix of CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES is an international organization that works to protect wild animal and plant species that may be at risk due to trade (CITES Secretariat, 2011). In addition to threats to the trees of the forests, even the animals, such as the endemic lemurs, have been butchered for restaurant delicacies or eaten by the loggers; these species are clearly suffering from habitat destruction as well.

Conservation issues can become extremely complicated especially in situations involving countries struck by poverty and political turmoil. In these cases, it is up to authorities of the global community to step in and save both endangered habitats and species, and a whole government from destruction. I believe the right steps have been taken so far, for example, the petition by WWF, and it will take time and proper resources to take control of the situation any further.

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The threat of wind turbines to bat mortality

Piorkowski, M.D. and O'Connell, T.J. 2010. Spatial pattern of summer bat mortality from collisions with wind turbines in mixed-grass prairie. The American Midland Naturalist 164:260-269.

http://www.bioone.org.ezproxy.tru.ca/doi/full/10.1674/0003-0031-164.2.260

Wind turbine developments are increasing in number across North America as an alternative energy source, however, their potential risks on bat & bird mortality has been recognized. A recent study, conducted by Piorkowski and O'Connell (2010), included a spatial analysis at the Oklahoma Wind Energy Center (OWEC), in Great Plains, Oklahoma, USA, to find evidence of reduced mortality rates as a result of birds or bats colliding with wind turbines. More specifically, due to the presence of two different bat colonies within 15km of OWEC, the influence of wind turbines in close proximity to large maternity colonies was also of interest. The main objectives were: (1) to determine the rate of bat collision mortality per turbine during the summer, and (2) to discover if the spatial distribution of collision mortality was linked to local topography, vegetation, and flight corridors used by bats to and from their roost. In 2004 and 2005, during May and July of each year, various carcass surveys for bats and birds killed by turbines were conducted. The results showed that mortality was spread throughout 68% of the turbines at OWEC. Most of those carcasses were of various bat species; Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) accounted for most of the bat fatalities (85%). Spatial analyses did not show a strong pattern of mortality estimates, but collision mortality was higher at turbines close to eroded ravines –referred to as ‘hot spots’ of collision mortality in this study. Further research would be required to gather information about: parameters for predicting hot spots of wind turbines in association with seasons and years; identifying specific characteristics of hot spots; and examining whether factors like wind strength and direction could account for collision mortality in these areas. For species management issues, if continued monitoring shows the persistence of the presently identified hot spots at OWEC, Piorkowski and O'Connell recommend re-establishing the turbines and, ultimately, finding a balance between the goals to reduce collision mortality and the economic and environmental goals of power generation. Also, for future developments of wind farms, it was advised to examine the potential risks to individuals within colonies in close proximity to the areas, taking into consideration the daily foraging routes to and from roosts that may intersect with proposed developments.

Piorkowski and O'Connell reflect on a very important issue of yet another man-made threat that is still under research to implicate the best measures for appropriate management. In fact, organizations such as the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative (BWEC) (formed in 2003 as a branch of alliance of Bat Conservation International, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the American Wind Energy Association and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the US Department of Energy) have been formed to provide more data on the issues of bat collision mortality (Bat Conservation International, 2010).

Bats and Wind Energy:

http://www.batcon.org/index.php/what-we-do/bats-and-wind-energy.html

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