Ancient Forest Rage
Sixty million year old rainforests are the face of God, no more
ancient forest logging

Earth Meanders by Dr. Glen Barry
https://earthmeanders.blogspot.com/
November 16, 2006

Nowhere is the twisted face of Gaia's pain more evident than in
the wreckage of the Earth's ancient forests that have been
"sustainably" logged. As for those doing and apologizing for the
logging, I would very much like to take a hot poker and stick it
up their… wait, don't go there, at least not in this Meanders.
Suffice it to say in a place that would really hurt and that
rarely sees the sun.

I am furious, enraged that the Earth has not outlawed industrial
ancient forest loss and diminishment. These remaining large,
contiguous rainforests are a requirement for global ecological
sustainability. I am full of rage that governments still find
liquidation of life giving forest ecosystems an
acceptable economic activity. I and others are enraged that the
logging industry engages in ecocide to feed their families
dooming their children to death. And most damned for their sins
are the well-heeled environmental bureaucrats who outrageously
make a living lying about the ecological sustainability and
social desirability of logging primeval ancient forests.

If anything is sacred, it is the world's last Primeval Ancient
Forests, with their incredibly complex interactions of genes,
species, plant communities, animal populations; constrained and
formed by their physical environments. Since the rise of
flowering plants, a crescendo of evolution has lead to diversity
and beauty beyond belief. Incidentally, these plant assemblages
regulate hydrological and atmospheric processes making human and
all life possible. This meander will limit itself to terrestrial
diversity, but it is much the same for oceans.

Primeval forests are the Garden of Eden – a kaleidoscope of
evolutionary brilliance and seemingly chaotic mayhem out of
which has spun all life including humans. Ancient forests are
the foundation and engine of life. Climate change and water
scarcity are not the only things that will kill us if left
unchecked, loss of the world’s remaining ancient forests will as
well, as the planetary ecosystem irreversibly collapses.

An old-growth, primeval primary forest is a perfect tapestry of
heavenly beauty. There is no such thing as forests completely
unmarred by human’s presence, as deposition of atmospheric
pollutants such as nitrogen and sulfur dioxide have already
altered the world’s last large contiguous forests. And it is
true that indigenous people have manipulated vegetation
succession for millennia, and can and should continue their
small-scale traditional activities in their traditional
wildlands. But much that is natural, ancient, good, truthful and
holy remains in the world’s last large forest wildernesses.

A sixty million year old rainforest is priceless; it is the face
of God. Foremost it cycles energy and filters wastes in a manner
that maintains Gaia – the global ecological planetary system.
Every gene to species to community assemblage has a role to play
in maintaining ecosystems, microclimates, and the global
atmosphere. Ancient forests provide the constraints and
boundaries necessary for human and all other life.

There are many ways to classify and study the continuous bounty
of say a 60 million year old rainforest ecosystem. We can
identify species, though with some difficulty due to
hybridization. Astonishingly species are far from uniform, as
within species lay an astonishing array of genetic diversity –
unique gene types called alleles that may exist in only one
isolated population of the broader species. You can remove much
biomass by selectively logging an ancient forest and still
maintain many species and depauperate vegetation communities,
but countless genetic variety is often lost forever. What
remains will not be an ancient forest for millennia.

When loggers liquidate a patch of primeval forests – as has
happened for centuries – the very building blocks of Earthly
creation is destroyed for such necessities as plywood and
cardboard boxes. Meanwhile we continue to hear from industry
flacks that forests are doing fine, as the increase in
plantations and secondary growth is confused as being of equal
value as the lost ancient intact forest ecosystems.

The reality is that essentially all of the Earth terrestrial
ecosystems and their original vegetation associations have been
lost or are threatened. Over 80% has been turned into much
reduced agro-ecosystems, production forests, cities, pastures
and industrial wastelands. Already almost certainly we have
surpassed the amount of intact natural terrestrial ecosystems
that can be lost while still maintaining biodiversity, climate,
water and soil systems. Humanity needs large, widespread and
connected ancient forests and restored old-growth for society to
live and prosper. Ancient forests are an important component of
the ecosystem engine that powers Gaia and makes all life
possible through its cycling of energy and nutrients.

So what is to be done with the last large contiguous terrestrial
ecosystem engines? For one hundred years the discipline of
forestry has focused upon sustained yields at the expense of
other forest values including ecosystem and community wholeness.
Best management practices have now been usurped with the promise
of “certified forest management”. While attempting to minimize
the obvious abuses of centuries of rapacious forest liquidation,
certification fails miserably because it is based on the lie
that primary and old-growth forests can be logged in an
acceptably ecologically sustainable manner.

Ancient forests selectively logged for the first time are
irrevocably and forever diminished. Selectively logged ancient
forests lose unknown genes; have different species composition,
associations, structure and function; and are less able to hold
carbon. After several such selective harvests ancient forests
become tree plantations. There is a role for certified forestry
in regenerating diverse planted forests and secondary regrowth,
and for traditional indigenous uses to continue in ancient
forests. But all other activities including logging, mining,
dams, utility lines, roads and plantations doom ancient primary
and old-growth forests to spiraling ecological decline.

For decades the big forest conservation groups including
Greenfarce, Forest Stalking Council (FSC), Willing to Wack
Forests (WWF), and the Rainforest Inaction Network have assured
us we can log our ancient forests sustainably while maintaining
the essence of their being as sacred ecological treasures. Given
the immense difficulty of shutting down the ancient forest
logging industry – the issues of equity given past logging in
rich countries, reasonable development aspirations of local
peoples, and the sheer inertia of the idea that the world’s life
giving ecosystems are resources the should be harvested; they
have rolled over.

Rather than being concerned with ecological truth that ancient
forests are required for Gaia’s and humanity’s survival, the
logging apologists are desirous of being perceived as
“reasonable” environmentalists. Due to lack of ecological
training in some, and an addiction to drinking from the trough
of environmental foundations by others, they spread the BIG LIE
– certification of old growth forest logging is a public, social
and ecological good. They could give a shit about what is
necessary and sufficient to maintain large, contiguous forests
and thus the Earth’s ecosystems.

The Amazon, Canadian Boreal, Russian Taiga, African rainforest
and the other last large contiguous holy life giving forest
temples can never be allowed to be deforested or diminished
through industrial selective logging or other activities.
Efforts by somewhat well intentioned but misinformed reformers
to change the logging rules a bit so that less damage is caused
by ripping apart glorious holy places is misguided and enables
the forces of ancient forest logging ecocide.

Planetary survival depends intimately upon NO MORE ANCIENT
FOREST LOSS OR DIMINISHMENT. Viable options exist including
carbon payments for avoided deforestation, ecotourism, and
small-scale community eco-forestry by local peoples. Career
environmental bureaucrats pushing certified industrial logging
of old-growth forests are even worse than the lying, cheating
and killing timber mafia that make no apologies for making an
easy buck by dismantling creation. Both deserve to be rounded
up, charged with ecocide, and imprisoned in gulags.

My organization Ecological Internet’s network and allies will
shortly be throwing down the gauntlet. Initially we will be
asking every major forest conservation organization in the world
to state clearly whether they are for ancient forest logging or
not. They simply must choose sides – are they for industrial
logging of primeval ecosystems, and if so under what
circumstances?

We will then work tirelessly to disrupt the activities of those
apologizing for and promoting ancient forest logging. Things
will escalate in stages. But if the Earth has a chance of
achieving global ecological sustainability, society will
eventually by law decide that ancient forests WILL be left
untouched and allowed to expand at any cost. The Earth’s
ecological operation and humanity’s survival are dependent upon
ending ancient forest logging and other industrial development.
Please support Ecological Internet at https://forests.org/donate/
as we work to end ancient forest development.

###

Earth Meanders is a series of personal essays that places
questions of environmental sustainability within the context of
other contemporary issues. Comments can be made, and past
writings can be found, at: https://earthmeanders.blogspot.com/ .
Emailed comments will be posted there as well. Permission is
granted to reprint this essay provided it is properly credited.

---
You are subscribed to ecological_internet as [email protected].

Before unsubscribing, please consider modifying your list profile at:
https://www.ecoearth.info/subscribe/...mail=wyldflowr@comcast.net

To unsubscribe, send a blank email to
[email protected]
Or click here:
https://ecoearth.info:81/u?id=50454C...gical_internet

To subscribe, send a blank email to [email protected]
Or visit here:
https://www.ecoearth.info/subscribe/