Written by Evelyn Gusmán
Thursday, 17 November 2011 10:13
A feeling of uneasiness took hold of the group of scientists who worked on the development of the
Red Book of Terrestrial Ecosystems of Venezuela (LR)edited by the Venezuelan environmental organization Provita, which first number was published in December 2010. The area known as “evergreen forests”, in south Venezuela, is apparently not free from human intervention anymore.
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The LR reports the country's forests cover an area of 311,496 km ², of which 290,018 km ² are in the states of Amazonas, Bolívar and Delta Amacuro - some scientists argue that all three states should be part of the Venezuelan Amazon. Only the state of Amazonas was taken into account for the publication – region where officially are 53,000 km ² of the Amazon, with its palm trees, evergreen shrubs and woodlands, riparian forests, shrub grasslands on white sand and saxicolous vegetation.
The study indicates that in 1988 the evergreen forest covered 145,555 km² of the Amazonas state. Up until 2010, 13.825 km² had been cleared, leaving it with its current area of 131.730 km². Among the main threats to its conservation are mining, illegal logging, burning, changes in agricultural practices, population growth, tourism and commercial exploitation of natural resources, which are "the most important triggers of the change or loss of forest, as well as the newly recognized effect of climate change".
Biologist Franklin Rojas-Suarez, one of the editors of the paper, says, "The situation in the Venezuelan Amazon ecosystem is similar to other regions south of the Orinoco." Despite the threats the forest faces, he believes the decree on protected areas (four natural monuments, two national parks and one biosphere reserve) "was one of the main strategies ever implemented towards their conservation".
Despite these results, the botanist Otto Huber, scientific adviser to the Botanical Garden Foundation of Venezuela, says that the Venezuelan Amazon still retains "a setting very close to its natural state" in its landscapes, - since the evergreen forest cover has been reduced by 10% from 1988 to 2010. Huber affirms the tepuyes (flat-topped mountain found mainly in Venezuela) or mountains located north of the Amazonas state are "virtually unexplored."
He urges official institutions to push for research partnerships with universities, local study groups and the Regional Herbarium of the Amazonas, in order to promote the creation of observation and measurement schemes in 2011. He is sure that "the tepuyes have hidden surprises to us." Let's see what the next LR says.
State of affairs on Amazon’s conservation
Palm forests: in 1988 it was estimated an area of 4,508 km ², but in 2010 it decreased to 1,412 km ². The LR labels its condition as Vulnerable. The main threats are livestock farming, species extraction and timber exploitation.
Evergreen shrubs: 93% of the evergreen forests of Venezuela (290,018 km²) are in the states of Amazonas, Bolívar and Delta Amacuro. The Amazonas is the second in extension - 131,700 km² in 2010. The woodlands are labeled as "nearly threatened".
Semi-Deciduous forests: the LR says, "The intervention is evident, mainly by illegal mining and the effects brought upon by the activity." There is risk of eradication. "The disturbances will continue". These forests can be found in the national parks Duida-Marahuaca and Parima Tapirapecó, southeast of Amazonas.
Evergreen shrubs: Least Concern. Among the threats there is the destruction by recurrent burning and mining.
Coastal scrubs: are plants adapted to periods of flooding; found southwest of Amazonas in the basins of the rivers Atabapo-Guainía, Casiquiare and Negro. It covers an area of 12,017 km ² and according to the LR are of Least Concern. It recommends that: "anthropogenic changes are identified and that corrective actions are taken before the threshold of threatened ecosystems are reached."
Shrublands and grasslands tepuyanos: classification Vulnerable, its main threats are tourism (due to trampling, helicopter landing, climbing and rappelling activities, paragliding and hovercraft, introduction of exotic species and accumulation of garbage) and global climate change.
Open savannas: classification Vulnerable. In 1988 they had an estimated area of 996 km² and in 2010 of 1,565 km², an increase that is "worrying because it may indicate transformation of forest into anthropic savanna."
Bushy savannas: the LR classifies it as Nearly Threatened, recommending greater protection for the chaparrals. The bushy savannas are "in danger of being eradicated by the expansion of activities that involve larger-scale deforestation."
Shrub grassland on white sand: Least Concern. The main threats are mining and climate change "which may involve medium-and long-term changes in its characteristic system of flooding increasing the dry months of its ecosystem."
Saxicolous vegetation: Vulnerable due to uncontrolled tourism. "It is estimated that the damage made is fundamentally irreversible."
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