You might be forgiven by some for thinking that this cannot be true. After all, rainforests are a big issue and they are generally thousands of miles away from you, right? To put it bluntly, if it weren’t for the existing and remaining rainforests, we might not be having this conversation today. And today, we’re going to take action. For starters, we’ve begun to do our part to save the world’s rainforests by presenting you with this note.
Rainforests can take between 60 million and 100 million years to evolve. They support countless wildlife and medicinal plants. Sadly, we have been killing rainforests at an alarming rate than ever before. Not all rainforests are destroyed by timber companies. Surprisingly, much forestland is decimated due to commercial agriculture and subsistence farming, including cattle ranching.
Thanks to over-consumption and capitalist imperatives across the world, our remaining forests, some still pristine, others already tarnished, are an endangered species.
I used to worry that all the trees in the jungle would be cut down to make paper for their reports on how to save the rainforest!
~ Nick Birch
Time and space do not allow us to go into extensive detail. So, what follows here are those thirty plus ways you can start to make an impact on protecting the rainforests, one of the last bastions of our human survival.
30+ Surprising and Innovative Ways To Save Rainforests
1. Starting from home base – Think of all the things that you’ve accumulated and the things that are destined to be tossed out, simply because you no longer seem to have any space over for them. You can ask yourself this question; am I consuming too much.
2. Learning to love trees and all things green – The next step is also simple. Begin to think green. Look around your own garden or neighborhood and see if you can detect that something is missing. Doesn’t the area need a bit of wholesomeness and color added to it?
3. Then plant your own trees – By planting your own trees, you begin to breathe new life into your immediate surroundings. Soon, natural life, such as birds begins to flourish once more.
4. Creating your own natural reserves and ecosystems – As time goes by, you become accustomed to change and become more excited about the prospect of doing things for yourself and the environment. You begin to think about growing more things to accompany the trees.
5. And what this does on a larger scale – Imagine if we all did this. Each little contribution adds a more vibrant life to the Earth’s damaged ecosystems.
6. Before you do that, you can broaden your knowledge with extensive reading and research – We believe that you’ve already begun this process. You are reading our introductory list of thirty or more ways that you can help save the rainforests.
Taken a step further, there is more than enough literature to immerse yourself with and thus empower yourself with the knowledge of what still needs to be done.
7. Then you’re on your way towards becoming an ardent rainforest lover – Your new-found knowledge brings about an appreciation of the serious consequences of neglecting your rainforests. You now begin to think more along the lines of what more you can still do.
8. This love affair will spread like wildfire. Here’s why – When you begin to appreciate the finer nuances of the rainforests, such as the indigenous communities that depend on it for survival, your passion grows and you just can’t stop talking to others about your new discoveries. Soon, you’ve influenced others to embark on similar initiatives.
9. While you’re doing that, be mindful of what you buy. Here’s why – You’ve come to realize that everything you buy has an impact. So, now you take more precautions over your shopping list, eliminating wasteful or unneeded items along the way.
10. Spend more time on the internet, but do no printing – Taken together with knowledge-based imperatives, utilizing the internet has very little impact on rainforests, provided that you are doing no printing. Interestingly, many of the materials used to power the internet have been sourced from areas where previously rainforests stood.
11. Rainforest safe books and paper – Encouragingly, there is a growing global move away from sourcing cheaply produced paper from mass deforestation methods.
12. Joining a worthy NGO – Still, stuck in your old neighborhood? By now, one organic and health-oriented produce store has joined the ranks of community startups. Visit it and you will pick up pamphlets on a worthy cause you can join.
13. An innovative concept called Bitseeds – It works as a combination of hedging on farm produce and the phenomenon of accumulating viral currencies. It’s a great drive to raise more funds for rainforest protection.
14. Verbal or in writing, say no to deforestation – It’s that easy. Just say no. If you haven’t been heard loudly enough, you can write online letters or even start your own blog.
15. Join or start charity drives – Money is needed always. But you don’t need to wait for an opportunity to fall into your lap. Just one small community fund-raiser for the bigger causes will help.
16. The big issues on palm oil – Most processed and convenience-oriented products are produced with palm oil content. Most palm oil plantations stand on areas where rain forests have been cleared for the purposes of mass production.
17. If you really must, here are the alternatives open to you – Have a go at the multinationals responsible for palm oil production and convert to organic methods of consumption.
18. It’s difficult in the beginning, but start reading the labels – You need to make a concerted effort to understand just how great the impact is. After that, you can start eliminating previously convenient choices and start replacing it with the greener alternatives.
19. Notes on responsible shopping, the eco-friendly and sustainable way – Most of everything that is environmentally sustainable also has little or no impact on rainforests.
20. Create a Habitat for migrating animals! You can make use of a backyard, balcony, or window to help to migrate birds on their way home. Just by planting native plants, bird and insect attracting flowers, you can help these amazing migrations.
21. Buy indigenous and you truly become a part of your nation’s heritage – Doing this; you end up contributing towards the survival of rainforests anyway.
22. There’s a good reason why you should be supporting land claims – Indigenous people’s land claims need to be supported. They will make better and more responsible use of the land.
23. Reduce your carbon footprint. Climate change puts our rainforests at risk. So consider reducing your dependence on oil and oil-related products.
Simple things that you can get started include use public transportation, use solar panels, eat locally produced foods and vegetables, recycling, look for various ways to go green, set the thermostat a couple of degrees lower in winter, and many more.
24. And through your NGO, a campaign against the corporate land grabbers – NGOs are already active in such campaigns.
25. By all means, support your local farming communities, but pressure them to plant those trees – Organic farming works well when it makes a meaningful contribution towards sustainability and growth.
26. Some things you need to know about your coffee – The emphasis remains on South America where most of the world’s coffee is mass-produced on cleared, deforested land.
27. We may as well talk about tea too – The same goes for tea, although this time focus is also turned to the Indian sub-continent.
28. Its election season so becomes politically active and responsible – Find out which politicians are actively on board in saving the rainforests and align yourself with them.
29. Voting strategies for rainforest supporters – You also need to influence voters to not support politicians who are vigorously on the side of those multinational corporations clearing the forests.
30. Continue to reduce your carbon footprint – Everything you do from now on has a direct influence on those forests.
31. By saving on the gas bill, you’ll begin saving rainforests too – Gas companies are using cleared land to harvest the oil you might already be using.
32. Even better, use public transport networks – This helps to reduce the demand for gas and oil and makes a contribution towards saving the forests.
33. Better still, walk or cycle – This is the best impact you can make. No gas used, more trees planted.
If you’ve gotten this far with your reading, you’ve made progress in regard to helping to protect existing rainforests. Not only that, while protecting rainforests remains of high importance, but a new and correlated campaign also needs your active support.
Alongside talking about how to save the forests, we’ve also mentioned suggestions on how you can play your small part in getting forests to grow again.
So, before you give up hope, still adamant that the bigger picture remains beyond your reach, think again, and think big. If you are still feeling dejected then perhaps we haven’t done our job well enough. But we believe this is not the case.
Even your own common sense should tell you that when you begin with the little things at home, you’re already making an indelible impression. Now, how about this, unless you are a rare exception, you have a conscience, just as Mother Nature gave you.
So, to make a great, global impact, give your conscience a massage every once in a while and get to work.
References:
http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/preserve.html
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/act/stand-with-the-guardians-of-the-amazon/