Re: Optimal Population?

>Dear Dr. Barendse:
>Referring to your latest posting, I should like to comment on one point
>only. You said:
>"- over-population of the poor is here not the prime cause of the
>destruction of the rainforest. The worst
>period here were the 1980's when whole areas as large as US-states had been
>given as concessions to multinational logging-companies and (although the
>Brazilian state has meanwhile imposed a ban on the export of tropical wood)
>illegal logging is still going on."
>
>I happen to have lived in a part of Amazonia (the state of Rondonia) during
>the 1980's and have been involved with the production of tropical woods in
>Bolivia and Brazil for about 30 years. Valuable species such as Mahogany
>are extremely rare (often less than 1 tree per ha) and even if a few other
>species are being used and taking account of logging roads, the
>environmental damage to the forest is negligible. Taking photos from the
>air 3 or 4 years after logging operations end, the canopy has been
>completely restored and one cannot distinguish such a forest form a virgin
>one.
>That does not mean that loggers are angels; they hardly ever care about
>SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT and  seldom provide for natural regeneration
>of valuable species.
>
>But as to the DESTRUCTION OF RAINFORESTS FIRE IS THE MAIN CULPRIT, because 
>of:
>1. misguided settlement projects, where settlers get title for their land
>only after clearing it and
>2. land grants to cattle ranchers or for the production of sugarcane for
>alcohol.
>Coming back to Rondonia, in my time planes could not land there for several
>months during the dry season, because of the smoke of the burning forests.
>
>Should anyone care to discuss this subject in more detail, I should be glad
>to give more information.
>
>Greetings      Paul Riesz

My name is Georges Drouet, I'm French and I'm living in Brussels, Belgium,
it's probably a lame excuse for my bad English writing...

Whatever, I would answer to this point.
The Brasilian rainforest's destruction is finally a political decision.
Government gives grants to ranchers or settlers when they clear their
areas. This people need to work as Europeans needed to work in the Middle
Age, destroying old forests. But times have changed. Now, rich countries
are recovering their protected forests and corporations find higher
benefits runing their business in south countries because of weak labour
policies and environmental regulations. We, rich people, are exploiting
poor countries to increase corporate benefits on a little margin if we
compare it with the leverage effect that little growth percentage will
represent in capital expansion thanks to the stock market.

Everything is linked: the poor Brazilian have to cut the trees around him
to receive his owner title. With his small property he's going to produce
some sugarcane or cattles to be sold to a wholesaler. That meat will arrive
in our Macdonalds hamburgers and the alcool will get used to produce some
tropical licor and somebody will drink it in a bar or some disco...

But nobody really takes care of that process, neither the farmer -he need
to work-, nor the wholesaler -he need to make business-, nor the
corporation -it requires growth to keep shareholders- nor the government
-it require better GDP to access international loans- nor the dancer -he
just want to have fun!-  So, who cares?
The Rio Summit? The IMF?; The World Bank? The Brazilian Government? Bill?
Romano?

Why can't we change that? Because of competition in between countries. If
Brazil decided to change its rules, corporations will fly to Indonesia or
Senegal and poor landers will get poorer... The world is just a big
supermarket for transnational corporations, a place is like another one,
the only important matter is how deeply the political system is controlated
by free market.

Do you have an answer to this competition system?

What solution can we find?

By the way, if you have some aerial fotographies of the Brazilian
rainforest in fire, I would apreciate to receive some pdf files...

Thank you.



------------------------------------------
Prospective Internationale
Georges Drouet, président

28, place Morichar  1060 Bruxelles
gdrouet@brutele.be