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Headlines : EnvironmentThe monkey that could save the world
To stave off the complete eradication of its golden lion tamarin home, environmental charities are trying to convince young Brazilians that the Atlantic rainforest is a precious resource. At a camp supported by Earthwatch in the Jureia reserve, south-west of São Paulo, children spend weekends learning about the animals that depend on the forest – jaguars, maned wolves, tapirs, three-toed sloths – and what they can do to save the habitat. “Each of us has planted about 300 trees,” said Terezinha Dos Santos and Leonardo Santos de Azevedo, both 15.
[Posted By variable]Republished from The Independent
Environmental groups have enlisted one of the world’s most distinctive and rare mammals, the golden lion tamarin, in their campaign to prevent irreversible climate change damaging the planet.
The orange-maned tamarins, whose name derives from their resemblance to antique Chinese drawings of lions, are on the brink of extinction because their habitat, Brazil’s unique Atlantic rainforest, has been all but eradicated. Barely 4 per cent is left.
The destruction of the coastal forest has received scant attention compared to the threat to the Amazon rainforest. But campaigners say that what has happened along Brazil’s seaboard is not merely a warning of what could happen in the Amazon basin if policies do not change: it has already changed rainfall patterns.
International alarm at environmental degradation in Brazil is often not reflected among Brazilians themselves. Some 130 million people, or 70 per cent of the population, live in the area once covered by the Atlantic forest, yet few are aware of it. The UK chapters of the Earthwatch Institute and WWF, formerly the World Wide Fund for Nature, are among groups seeking to change local attitudes.
Tamarins are playing a lead role in heightening awareness among Brazilians. Not only can the rare animals attract eco-tourists…
Posted by variable
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Not only can the rare animals attract eco-tourists…
There’s No Such Thing As Eco-Tourism
wanna be an eco-tourist? walk. or ride a bike.
well said
wanna be an eco-tourist? walk. or ride a bike.
sold my car— walk everywhere— i wouldn’t consider myself a tourist
fuck tourists… tourism just propagates the gluttonous consumer society status quo and creates a barrier between the local land/population and encourages a “tom and daisy”: http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/03/10/07.htmlmentality of “oh, someone else will be along to clean it up— someone always is.”
but at least they’re giving kids hands on experience on how vital and diverse our ecology is… a far sight better than watching a disney movie about it after it’s all gone.
All you read and Wear or see and Hear on TV Is a product Begging for your Fatass dirty Dollar…
I’ll leave all the politically-correct tourism bashing alone; I don’t feel like arguing that right now, other than to say that I think it’s silly.
But I do want to slag the whole “charismatic megafauna” strategy of conservation education. It’s not about the Golden Lion Tamarin, as cute and charismatic as the little booger is. For twenty damn years, environmentalists have been using this “save the whales” technique, and it’s not working. People think that all that matters is endangered cute species, when it’s really the ecosystems that are important. No amount of conservation of a single species can address the widescale disturbance of the ecosystem they’re in. I understand that it’s easier to drum up support for conservation (both of species and of ecosystems) that way, but I think that your average member of the public is missing the point.
cosign what Snark said.
I want to go and spend 18 months living above the Arctic circle…
is that ecotourism?
G-ma, Mrs. Tango did just that for work. You should see the photos.
yeah, it’s easy to stick a tamarin and a slogan on a t-shirt… not so easy to show the inter-connectedness and effects of limiting diversity, forced migration, extinction, ect… and a tamarin is more photogenic and likely to drum up support… dunno of many people gonna hop on board the Scollid Wasp bandwagon
Interesting point of view Snark. Of course I’ve heard it before, but you really seem to mean it. I have long dreamed of making myself a T-shirt that says ‘Nobody wants to save the krill.’ It traces back to a severely funny moment at a party once when my friend was ranting about how it was stupid to stop clubbing baby seals just because they are cute when the cod population and others was dwindling. He was like, let’s kill even more seals. :-D
But I still have to disagree partly. There are cornerstone species, and endangered species of course that are worth giving special protection. Often, the charismatic species that get the attention of the sheeple are especially important species, top carnivores and so on. Some species are more redundant in the food chain (web) than others. That is a fact, semantical issues notwithstanding.
I certainly think massively stepping up the environmental education of South America’s young ones is a fantastic idea. The best bet to save the world is to educate the next generation better.