When we visit the supermarket or drugstore, deforestation is probably not at the forefront of our minds. Yet many of the items we purchase – from packaged cookies to body lotion – come with the hidden cost of illegal deforestation, particularly in tropical regions.
A staggering 70 percent of tropical deforestation is rooted in commercial agriculture, with an estimated half of this farming activity illegal. Trade in products grown on illegally cleared land is big business, bringing in some $61 billion dollars annually. Many of these products are exported to the developed world, where shoppers unknowingly toss them into their carts.
The European Union is the largest importer of ‘forest-unfriendly’ commodities, followed by China, India, Russia and the U.S. Some 14 percent of internationally traded beef, 20 percent of soy, and 44 percent of palm oil originates on illegally cleared land. And these products can be difficult to dodge. Palm oil, for instance, shows up in a mind-boggling 1/3 of all consumer products – from processed foods to candles and cosmetics.
While Europe and the U.S. have laws prohibiting importing illegally logged timber, similar laws don’t exist for products grown on illegally cleared land. The issue is further muddled by the fact that most of the commercial farmers that clear these lands do have permits – but many obtain them through corrupt means or ignore preservation mandates.
Indonesia is at the epicenter of this problem. Indonesia is the world’s largest source of palm oil, and approximately 80 percent of its forest clearance is illegal. And many other countries’ forests will be at risk as long as this activity continues unchecked.
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Web Links
Tropical Rain Forests Suffer From Impact of Commercial Agriculture
Your shopping comes from illegally deforested land
Consumer Goods and Deforestation
Photo, posted April 15, 2011, courtesy of CIAt via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, with script contribution from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.