Rainforests

3 countries where Rainforests are located.

2 reasons why the Rainforest should be protected.

1 line of latitude where most Rainforests are found.

LO : To be able to explain the effects of resource extraction from tropical rainforests.

Tropical rainforest of the worldBrazil Ecuador Peru Indonesia Cameroo

n1. Mark on areas of

tropical rainforest and

2. Using your Atlas indicate the location of the countries in the purple box.

Challenge: Describe the distribution of tropical rainforest.

You have got 7 mins to do this. Beat the clock!

Fragile Environments require Sustainable Management

• Any environment which can be easily damaged is classified as fragile – most environments will recover but we will not be around to see the full recovery.

Sustainable is…?

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What are fragile environments?

• Fragile environments are those biomes that under threat form change, damage or unsustainable use.

• Although natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, can cause a lot of damage, it is mainly human intervention that causes the most – even seemingly natural events like floods and droughts are often made worse by man.

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What are the issues?• Undeveloped land is becoming scarcer: as there

is less undeveloped land available, the pressure increases on that that remains.

• Protecting biodiversity (plants and animals) is more difficult: we want to conserve that which we have but our desire to visit and see these areas is destroying them

• Desert edges are becoming deserts through overgrazing and the removal of trees/shrubs which give rise to soil erosion, and the decreasing rainfall all combine to turn productive farmland into useless scrub.

Quiz!

Tropical rainforests are being destroyed at the rate of

2 000 hectares per day32 000 hectares per day320 000 hectares per day.

The size of the remaining forest is about

5%

15%

25%

of the world’s land surface.

1250 to 6600

1500 to 4000

1350 to 5000

mm of rain falls yearly.

[Compared with UK -750 - 1000 mm]

Tropical rainforests produce

20%40% 60%

of Earth's oxygen.

[1 hectare is 10 000 square metres]

Why is this happening?

Why is the rainforest being cleared?

Mining of minerals

There are activities whereby resources are extracted from the rainforest.

Gas projects

Oil extraction

Commercial logging

What pressure are there on the Rainforest?

What other problems are there after deforestation?

Do you think these activities are justified? Be prepared to explain your answer.

Case study 1: Oil extraction in Oriente Region, Ecuador

• Link to water unit (water pollution)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx8PVcIrMCA

Watch the video:

• What is being extracted?

• What is the impact of this extraction?

The Oriente (East) region

• Consists of 13 million hectares of tropical rainforests

• Lies at the headwaters of the Amazon river basin

• One of the most diverse collections of animals and wildlife in the world- many endangered

• Also home to 95,000 indigenous people and 250,000 immigrants who have moved in search of land and work.

The extraction

Many LICs have a history of being exploited- colonies supply the home power with resources.

The industry is dominated by multi nationals such as Texaco. Little attention has been paid to non economic concerns.

Impacts….• Oil has discharged 4.3 million barrels of toxic waste into the

environment each day.• Toxic contaminants in dinking water have reached 1,000 times the

safe standard• Increases in gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes, birth defects

and cancers (stomach cancer 5x more in areas with oil extraction. • Miscarriage high amongst indigenous people such as Huaorani. • Plants such as periwinkle (used to cure childhood leukemia) are

now endangered.

The oil has only benefitted a few- many have become poorer- social inequalities. Only 20 years of oil left in the Amazon.

How are all of these things linked?

Case study 2: Palm Oil extraction in Indonesia and Borneo

• The vast majority of the worlds palm oil comes from Malaysia and Indonesia  where the expansion of the industry has destroyed millions of hectares of rainforest.  This deforestation is said to be far greater than the rate of deforestation due to logging in the Amazon rainforest. 

What is Palm Oil?

Palm oil is used by virtually every one of us in one form or another.  In its basic form it is used in processed or prepared foods such as bread, cakes, breakfast cereals and ready meals, as well as ice cream, margarine and crisps.  Unlike oil seed rape and sunflower oils palm oil is valued because it is solid at room temperature.  Palm oil is also cheaper than other types of oils. 

• In the past the majority of palm oil production has been for food and cosmetics but now the European Union have agreed to cut greenhouse gasses by 20%  by 2020 we are having to find a new source of fuel for our transport.  The answer is said to be bio-fuels however this will mean that Indonesia and Malaysia will produce more palm oil which will result in further destruction of some of the most valuable rainforest on the planet. 

The effect of this destruction will mean that many species of plants and animals that live in these rainforests  will be lost forever.  Examples of species that will be lost are the Sumatran tiger, Asian Elephant and the Orangutans of Borneo

Effects

• The FOE (Friends of the Earth) have highlighted how the palm oil industry is having a devastating impact on the orangutans of Sumatra and Borneo.  Some orangutans are killed off as the land they live on is cleared for palm tree plantation and others are killed as they have a fondness for eating palm oil seeds.  The rate of the forest clearance along with the killing of the orangutans is happening so quickly that orangutans could be extinct within 15 years.  98% of the Indonesian forest is expected to be destroyed by 2022

• At the moment there are between 55,000 and 60,000 Orangutans in Borneo

but 5,000 to 10,000 orangutans are killed each year.

Watch the video

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsR_IpECSZ8

Focus questions based on notes and video:1. What is palm oil and what makes it so special?

2. Where does the vast majority of palm oil grow, use the graph to the right to help your answer?3. Give three examples of 'everyday products' that palm oil is used to produce.4. How can reducing carbon emissions in Europe lead to an increase in palm oil production in Malaysia?

5. Explain why orangutans are the victims of palm oil plantations. 

Watch the second video - Palm Oil Production.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGFmP_wWztU

What approximate % of our shopping contains Palm Oil?We must put an end to Palm Oil right? - Why might this not be the best solution & give an example.So, how do we protect peoples livelihoods and the environment? Give examples from the video. 

Task: You are looking to explain the effects of resource extraction on the rainforest.

You will receive a card which describes resource extraction in a particular country.

Highlight in one colour the extraction. Then highlight in another colour the effect of that extraction.

Put the key information into your table. You need to know your case study to be able to share it with some one else in the class.

You then need to move around the room to find two other countries and in return share your country.

Challenge!

How could the Rainforest be managed sustainably?

Country

Effect of extraction Consequence…

Effect of resource extraction on tropical rainforests.

The extraction of resources from tropical rainforests is having a major impact on the environment.

Explain two effects of resource extraction from tropical rainforest areas.Use examples in your answer. (6)

Plenary

Self assess your answer:

Level 1 (1 -2 marks)

A basic answer simple descriptive statements

Level 2 (3-4 marks)

A clear answer

Explains but is not specific.

Level 3 (5-6 marks)

Two explained points.

Several specific examples