By Liliana Usvat
Blog 272-365
On6 December 2014, World News Daily Report published the sad news that Loggers cut Down the Oldest Tree in Amazon Forest
What can we do to prevent the destruction of the forest in the future?
We need to create a critical mass of people around the globe that have the life of the planet at hearth where the financial benefits of few are not more important that the existence of the forest and the subsistence of animals and other plants that use it.
How can the public opinion change the mind of the governments and other power players that see the profit in logging?
Illegal loggers at the frontier of the Peruvian and Brazilian border have mistakenly cut down what experts claim is the world’s oldest tree after allegedly not noticing they were logging deeply in Matsés Indigenous
Reserve, an area where logging is illegal, infuriating local conservation organizations and native indigenous communities.
The giant Samauma tree that is thought to be over 5,800 years old judging on its concentric rings and estimated to be close to 40 meters in height was a major part of the native tribes cultural landscape, countless generations of natives having witnessed the long duration of the tree and having included it in their own culture.
«It is the Mother spirit of the rainforest, from this spirit-tree came the life force of all things living. They have destroyed Aotlcp-Awak, they have brought darkness upon not only our people, but the whole world» explains local tribesman leader Tahuactep of the Matsés tribe.
Native communities alarmed local media outlets and conservation groups when Aotlcp-Awak, or Mother tree in local dialects, was reported sawed down by heavy machinery
«For many generations, the Mother tree has brought my people health and good fortune. The roots of the Mother tree spread throughout the rainforest and bring its life spirit to the world. What will be left of the animals, of the plants and of our people now that the Mother spirit is gone» asks Kalahuaptl, a local shaman. «They have murdered the Mother spirit knowingly, they have done this to kill our people and take the spoils of the land» he adds, visibly shaken by the destruction of the millennia-old Samauma tree.
Anna Golding, local researcher for non profit organization and conservancy group Rainforest Protection Coalition (RPC), an initiative stemming from Berkeley University in California, believes the ‘incident’ was intentionnal. « There are large portions of this national reserve that are rich in oil and natural gas.
There has been committed action by energy corporations to lobby the government to exploit the area for years. The protected zones have been cut in half over the past decade and this is only their latest attempt to get rid of the local populations who are fighting to preserve their cultural heritage and lifestyle» she admits.
The mammoth roots of the trees are used by indigenous people to beat out messages that echo throughout the rainforest. Illegal logging operations have taken thousands of trees from pristine areas of the ancient forest.
Who is buying?
Timber operators use the trees for a cheap source of plywood for Brazil, Asia, Japan and the United States.
Blog 272-365
On
What can we do to prevent the destruction of the forest in the future?
We need to create a critical mass of people around the globe that have the life of the planet at hearth where the financial benefits of few are not more important that the existence of the forest and the subsistence of animals and other plants that use it.
How can the public opinion change the mind of the governments and other power players that see the profit in logging?
Illegal loggers at the frontier of the Peruvian and Brazilian border have mistakenly cut down what experts claim is the world’s oldest tree after allegedly not noticing they were logging deeply in Matsés Indigenous
Reserve, an area where logging is illegal, infuriating local conservation organizations and native indigenous communities.
The giant Samauma tree that is thought to be over 5,800 years old judging on its concentric rings and estimated to be close to 40 meters in height was a major part of the native tribes cultural landscape, countless generations of natives having witnessed the long duration of the tree and having included it in their own culture.
«It is the Mother spirit of the rainforest, from this spirit-tree came the life force of all things living. They have destroyed Aotlcp-Awak, they have brought darkness upon not only our people, but the whole world» explains local tribesman leader Tahuactep of the Matsés tribe.
Native communities alarmed local media outlets and conservation groups when Aotlcp-Awak, or Mother tree in local dialects, was reported sawed down by heavy machinery
«For many generations, the Mother tree has brought my people health and good fortune. The roots of the Mother tree spread throughout the rainforest and bring its life spirit to the world. What will be left of the animals, of the plants and of our people now that the Mother spirit is gone» asks Kalahuaptl, a local shaman. «They have murdered the Mother spirit knowingly, they have done this to kill our people and take the spoils of the land» he adds, visibly shaken by the destruction of the millennia-old Samauma tree.
Anna Golding, local researcher for non profit organization and conservancy group Rainforest Protection Coalition (RPC), an initiative stemming from Berkeley University in California, believes the ‘incident’ was intentionnal. « There are large portions of this national reserve that are rich in oil and natural gas.
There has been committed action by energy corporations to lobby the government to exploit the area for years. The protected zones have been cut in half over the past decade and this is only their latest attempt to get rid of the local populations who are fighting to preserve their cultural heritage and lifestyle» she admits.
«These actions are clearly perpetrated with the consent of local authorities and the government. If this wasn’t the case, why are local enforcement agencies not prosecuting these corporations? Why are these loggers free to keep doing what they are doing? That is the bigger question» she adds.
Between 1991 and 2014, the total area of forest lost in the Amazon has more than tripled, with most of the lost forest becoming pasture for cattle. Rainforests are the richest places on earth holding the majority of the planet’s biodiversity, yet 100 acres of rainforests are cleared every minute, estimates a recent 2014 World Resources Institute report.
Samauma tree
In the Amazon forest, there grows a giant tree called Samaúma, referred to by the indigenous people as the "mother of trees".
Majestic Samauma trees grow between 100 and 160 feet high and to nearly 20 feet in diameter. The local people refer to the tree as the "Queen of the Forest" because of its immense size.
The Samaúma is a very tall tree in the forest, and is very easy to notice high above the surrounding greenery, it´s branches reaching out over the plant life underneath like a mother caring for her children. One of the largest living trees known to the human race, the Samaúma has a special purpose in the natural world.
The trunk of the Samaúma is hollow, and generally has a bulge in its center as if it were a full belly. Within the trunk is stored a large quantity of water, which in times of drought is released into the ground through its roots, giving life to the surrounding area. In this way the forest is able to survive until the next rainfall.
Conserving water with rain barrels and cisterns has a similar effect to the Samaúma tree within our society. By having these containers ready for rain, we can store water in them until it is needed in dry periods. Like this, we can preserve the lives of our plants as well as cut down on our usage of the water that grows more precious every day.
The mammoth roots of the trees are used by indigenous people to beat out messages that echo throughout the rainforest. Illegal logging operations have taken thousands of trees from pristine areas of the ancient forest.
Who is buying?
Timber operators use the trees for a cheap source of plywood for Brazil, Asia, Japan and the United States.
