Green forest: Esteemed habitat needs protection

L-R: Forest people hunting in Amazon and tropical deforestation for agricultural land.

Forest should be protected not only because it is the home of precious biodiversity but also because forests was and still is habitat for millions of people all over the world. The relationship of man with forest is more than commercial; not only for foods and raw materials for modern commodities or genetic pool for breeding high yielding plants and animals. To Kin of Homo sapiens forest is the paradise. Still people live in forests of Malaysia, Africa, South America and many other parts of the world, with their lifestyles interwoven with environment. Indeed, it is thought that many forest communities in Latin America have yet to contact the wider world.
Habitat of ancestors: Ancestors as well as related biological species of today's mankind lived and living on the branches of trees, mainly trees of tropical regions with branches full of fruits that could provide food and shelter from ferocious animals on the ground. Fruits and leaves are sources of carbohydrates and vitamins. Herbs and saps of vascular plants are used as medicine.
Plant and man: Sustained relationship: Human being has intimate relationship with plants. The relationship is even sustained in his body .Human eyes have highest resolution in green light. It forms most conspicuous image for green color, the colour of plants! These indicate the environment of man's evolution was green with trees, that is 'forest'. Plants are also economically related with human life till today. Food for appetite, garments for warmth and beautification, house for protection, furniture and tools for ease all over the world are mostly made from forest products. This relationship with plant is natural and harmless
Natural forest- cover world-wide: Forests worldwide cover some 3.9 billion hectares -- almost a third of the earth's land surface. Though vast, this wooded area is only half the size of forested land at the dawn of agriculture some 11,000 years ago. Two-thirds of the planet's forests are concentrated in 10 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Peru, Russia and the United States. Eighty-four per cent of forests are publicly owned, but private ownership is rising. Most forests are no longer in their original condition, having changed in composition and quality. Tropical and sub-tropical forests comprise 56 per cent of the total amount of forested area, while temperate and boreal (northern) forests account for 44 per cent (the remaining 5 per cent is mainly managed plantations).Primary forests with no visible signs of past or present human activity account for 36 per cent of the world's total forest area, but these primary forests are being lost or modified at a rate of six million hectares a year.
Paradise on Earth
'Jannat', counter-word for paradise in Arabic means garden or orchard. In Jannat, fruits and flowers will be there for the of blessed people according to scriptures. In forests, fruits are there. Likewise aquifers flow. You may get aquifer beneath forest to keep it evergreen as there is in paradise as described in various scriptures. In the Holy Qur'an trees are described as a symbol of blessing and orchard as complete blessing from God. The lifestyles of tribes living in rainforests may sound like that in the Garden of Eden for the lucky few who live there. It certainly has its advantages. There is little stress, little mental illness and little high blood pressure among rainforest dwellers. Their physical fitness is generally good, and few people need to work for more than four hours a day to provide themselves and their families with adequate food and other necessities.
Habitat of mankind through history
Hunting and gathering society: Primitive human society was depended on forest for food and shelter. They hunted wild animals and gathered plant materials such as fruit, seed, root and leaves. Those people were forest dwellers but exerted least impact upon forests. They cared forest for their own survival. They thought if they over hunted a wild animal or over extracted from a tree its population or existence would dwindle could not afford vis-a-vis their needs.
Clearing forest for agriculture: Agriculture harmed the forests most. When people shifted from hunting and gathering to agricultural practices they needed large areas for cultivating crops. The need for land increased even when people started to live permanently in an area. With permanent house and food security population increased very rapidly. They needed even more goods as time passed .They began to cultivate various types of crops for making various goods.
Urbanisation and industrialisation: Ancient man constructed dwelling houses with woods and leaves within forest localities. Many localities of ancient times are now cities throughout the world. The number of city dwelling people is going to be half of population by 2050. This will also expand urban cover on the planet further consuming huge natural land area. Encroachment on forest area for people's living in terms of urban area expansion is a great threat for natural forest. Industrialisation itself provoked the need for products among people because with goods from factories it was easier to meet the basic human needs e.g. foods, clothes, housing. Thus process of industrialisation aided population explosion that ultimately destroyed forest to a great extent.
Most of people in modern world even do not know their ancestors lived and some counter-parts are still living in forest. Some people admit man lived in forest in remote past now they do not live there. Some people consider people who live in forest went there from localities and became wild later. Rest of the people do not consider forest people as man at all. The protection of forest is not possible until people respect and adore forest as their habitat. On the other hand in tropical forest felling of tree for commercial plantation is going on robustly. In some cases, officers of forest agencies are allegedly sacrificing national and global interest for their personal benefits and helping the illegal loggers.
Forest dwelling indigenous people
As many as 150 million indigenous people live in forests worldwide. These people rely on the forest for their livelihood. It provides almost everything from food and shelter to tools and medicines, as well as plays a crucial role in people's spiritual and cultural life. As the dense forests around the world are located in the tropical humid regions most of the indigenous forest people are also here. In Asia the forest living people inhabit mainly in the islands of Indonesia, Malaysia and Borneo. In Africa the Congo basin as well as the Amazon basin of South America have huge forest cover. These forests are also habitat of millions of forest dwelling people. The people living in the forest make practical and sustainable use of the forest, and live within the constraints of this harsh environment. We have much to learn from their unique and valuable perceptions.
The Penan -- Borneo's last nomads: The remarkable forest peoples of Borneo have flourished there as nomadic hunter-gatherers for millennia. Enter the rainforest sometime with a group of them. They will teach you to smell, to hear and to see the bounty of the forest--the source of clean water, fruits, wild game and medicines. The Penan is the most traditional and nomadic of Borneo's tribes. The Penan people as a whole number approximately 10,000. In recent years the government has pressured most of them to settle in government-mandated housing and take up agriculture. A mere 400 have managed to retain their completely nomadic style of life.
The rainforest they have depended upon for thousands of generations--the ecological niche to which their physique, traditional knowledge, and customs have become adapted--is, in the meantime, allocated as logging concessions to wealthy and politically-connected timber companies. After logging the forest, or as a pretext for logging, the land is converted into oil palm or paper pulp plantations. Over 90 percent of the jobs on these plantations are filled by immigrant labour from Indonesia, leaving the local people with nothing. Most Penan have moved into houses along rivers, but regularly return to the forest to hunt.
Africa: Forest of Congo: Today the African rainforest is home to some of the most celebrated tribal people, for instance, the so-called "Pygmies" of the Ituri forest in northern Zaire. The tallest of these people, known as the Mbuti, rarely exceed five feet (1.5 m). Besides the Mbuti, there are three other major rainforest peoples of Africa: the Aka (Central African Republic and northern Congo), the Baka (southern Cameroon), and the Twa (central Zaire River basin). Together these groups account for some 130,000 to 170,000 forest dwellers distributed over a large area. The result is low population density; the Mbuti average less than one person for every one-and-a-half square miles.
Mbuti are also called Bambuti. When they establish a settlement, they clear any undergrowth, small trees, and saplings, leaving the canopy-forming trees intact. Under the cover of canopy, the pygmies are protected from the powerful tropical sun and can better harvest such things as honey and game. By leaving the canopy intact, when the group leaves, the area can quickly return to semi-primary forest. Their huts superficially resemble igloos, with a domed latticework formed with saplings and walls of shingled tree leaves.
The Bambuti people of the Congo refer to the forest as mother or father, and hold it sacred, a deity to ask for help and to thank. Bambuti live in the forest but trade with villages, providing bush meat and honey, and acquiring other produce. Egyptian records refer to people in the forests of the Congo 4,500 years ago. And scientists now suggest that at least 10 per cent of what is often regarded as virgin Amazonian rainforest was in fact carefully planted. The people there focused on establishing a diverse assortment of trees: fruits, nuts and palms.
Brazil: The Amazon forest: The Brazilian Amazon alone is home to 20 million people including 400 different indigenous groups and the future of the Amazon depends on the future of those that call the forest home. The Brazilian Amazon is home to between 280,000 and 350,000 indigenous people, of which 180,000 live traditionally, heavily dependent on the ancient forest for their sustenance and spiritual and cultural life.
The Yanomami are an ancient indigenous people living in the Amazon regions of Brazil and Venezuela. Today, there are approximately 26,000 Yanomami living along the Brazilian-Venezuelan border in the fertile lands of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers. Like most Brazilian indigenous people, the Yanomami are "semi-nomadic, agricultural labourers, or hunters-gatherers." Traditionally considered to be isolated peoples, the Yanomami are divided among four subgroups, according to linguistic differentiation. The name "Yanomami" was given by anthropologists and derived from an indigenous expression "Yanomami thëpë" which signifies "human beings." The Yanomami are also known for their close relationship with nature, relying on their territory for subsistence purposes and attributing cultural significance and myths to their surroundings.
The Waimiri Atroari of the Brazilian Amazon use 32 plant species in the construction of hunting equipment alone. Each plant has a specific role according to its physical and chemical properties. The Waimiri Atroari have long held a special place in the Brazilian imagery as a warrior people who confronted and killed any outsiders who tried to enter their territory. The invasion of their lands intensified when a mining company began excavations and when a hydroelectric dam was constructed, which flooded part of their territory. But the Waimiri Atroari faced up to these challenges and negotiated with national Brazilians, so that, today, they enjoy secure reservation boundaries, cultural vigour, and population growth.
Other people from forests: North America: The Haida are an indigenous nation of the west coast of North America. The Haida territories comprise an archipelago called Haida Gwaii, off the coast of British Columbia, and parts of what is now southeast Alaska. The Haida ability to travel was dependent upon a supply of ancient Western Redcedar trees that they carved into their famous Pacific Northwest Canoes. Carved from a single Redcedar tree, a vessel could sleep 15 adults head to toe, and was propelled by up to 60 paddlers (who often included women).Archaeological finds show that a Haida population was living on Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) off Canada's west coast 5,000 years ago.
Md. Mahfujur Rahman is studying environment at Jahangirnagar University.