THE STORY OF MAHOGANY mahogany The tree is found in about 1.5 million square kilometres of the Amazon rainforest, particularly in the area to the south of the Equator. In this area it is very thinly spread. In accessible areas it has been worked out usually by 'grab it and run' operations which cause enormous damage to the forest. For every tree cut, 30 other trees are destroyed. Forward
THE STORY OF MAHOGANY As mahogany becomes more scarce the loggers have moved on to protected lands. Today most of the mahogany cut in Amazonia is illegal and most of it is cut in Indian reserves.the effect on the Indian population has been devastating - epidemics of tuberculosis, measles, influenza and venereal diseases have contributed to the deaths of many of them. Violence between loggers and Indians has been widespread and gunmen have been hired by logging companies to protect the loggers. Logging operations open up the forest to farmers and ranchers and the problems are multiplied tenfold. In this way the search for scattered mahogany trees can destroy an entire rainforest and its culture.
MAHOGANY Latin: Swietenia macrophylla Other names: Mogno Type: Tree Size: Over 35 m Distribution: Native to tropical America, including Amazonia Uses: Timber Description: Tall tree which reaches the canopy in the rainforest. The stem is straight and there are few branches until the canopy level is reached. Climate: Needs high temperature - generally over 25 degrees centigrade. Rainfall must be heavy for mahogany to flourish - best over 1500 mm. Cultivation: Mahogany has not been cultivated in Amazonia. It occurs scattered through the rainforest. So great is its value that Selective Logging and general deforestation have resulted in it becoming very scarce. Additional uses: Mahogany is a fine-grained, highly patterned wood. It is easily worked and is valued in the manufacture of furniture and in the boat-building industry.
SELECTIVE LOGGING There are two basic ways to harvest timber from a forest - by or by selective logging Wholesale Clearance Because so many different species of tree (including mahogany) are found in tropical rainforests - there can be more than two hundred in a single hectare - selective logging is preferred i.e. valuable trees are cut, leaving the rest of the forest undisturbed. When carried out properly it means that the same plots can be harvested continuously - it is a sustainable system. The forest is surveyed and valuable trees identified. Permanent access roads are built. Valuable trees over a certain size are cut. Problems Forward
SELECTIVE LOGGING - continued The trees are dragged out of the forest without using heavy machines. This causes less damage to the surrounding forest. Parts of the shrub layer are then cleared to make room for valuable trees under the size limit to grow more quickly and allow siblings to develop. None of the logging operations in Amazonia follows this pattern - it is too complicated, requires careful management and there is less profit in it than opening up new areas. As long as there is virgin forest in Amazonia this is unlikely to change.
LOGGING: PROBLEMS The Selective Route to Disaster How to reduce 200,000 hectares of rainforest to scrubland in less than two years - turn the loggers loose. If there are any valuable trees on the land - mahogany, rosewood or suchlike - they will find them. The result - total destruction.
WHOLESALE CLEARANCE The second method of harvesting timber from a forest is to clear all the trees from an area. Once this has been done the land is left so that the forest can regrow naturally or other trees are planted to replace those cut down. This type of logging is usual in temperate latitudes where forests contain few different species. It is difficult in the tropical rainforest where many of the species are not useful. There are few factories which can pulp less valuable timber. It can take over a hundred years for trees to become big enough to fell on land which has been cleared. Soil erosion is likely to destroy the land. In fact only one large-scale attempt has been made to use this method. This was the - and it failed. Jari Project Wholesale cutting is common in the Amazon forests but most of the forest trees are burned and the forest is not encouraged to regrow. Instead the land is used for ranching.
THE JARI PROJECT Location: In the valley of the Jari River on the borders of Para and Amapa. Aim: To produce wood pulp for overseas' markets. Secondary aims: To exploit bauxite reserves to produce alumina. To mine kaolin which would be used to whiten paper. To rear cattle and grow rice on the Varzea. Scale: 1-2 million hectares of forest land. A road and rail network to link the project area with a new town, Monte Dorado, and the new river port, Port Mungaba; and a complete new pulping plant. The project eventually supported 20,000 people. Total investment over $1 billion. Origins: In the 1950s Daniel K Ludwig, one of the world's richest men, predicted a shortage of wood pulp. He decided to establish a new largescale pulping operation in the Amazon basin. Jari was the site he chose. Work began in 1967. Forward
THE JARI PROJECT Method: The natural rainforest was too diverse and it was decided to replace it with two introduced species (Pinus caribea and Gimelia arborea). Both were quick growing and would tolerate poor soils. They were expected to provide useful timber in less than 10 years. Outcome: Yields never came up to expectations. The heavy machinery used to clear the forest compacted the soil and destroyed the humus layer. Two thousand manual workers were employed to replace the machines. Then a fungus attacked the plantations, killing the trees and reducing rates of growth. In 1980 Ludwig stopped investing and in 1982 the operation was nationalised and Brazilian companies took over the debt. The kaolin was still working profitably. There were plans to produce timber to fuel the ironworks built for the Carajas Project. The future is still uncertain. Six thousand workers were sacked and the Ludwig Corporation received $280 million for a billion dollar investment.