How a rainforest in Western Samoa was saved
Greenpeace Editorial Office,
(U.S.A.
Headquarters)
1436 U Street, NW
Washington, DC
20009
U.S.A.
This article is adapted from “How one rainforest was
saved” by Nancy Perkins, Greenpeace (May/June 1989).
If reproduced, please give credit to: Greenpeace/Nancy
Perkins
_______________
In July 1988, when scientist Paul A. Cox arrived in the Western
Samoan village of Falealupo, he was shocked to find loggers cutting down the
trees in the surrounding forest.
He rushed to the village chiefs. “What’s
happening?” he asked. “Why are all the trees being cut down?” The
elders replied, “We simply had no choice. We have resisted the
loggers’ requests for years, but finally we had to give in.”
“Why?” Paul wanted to know. “The Government has condemned our
school,” answered one chief. “And has demanded that the village build
a new one.” “Yes,” added another, with a note of regret.
“Our choice was either to cut the rainforest or forego our children’s
education.” “I cried when I saw our trees being felled,” admitted
another chief.
“Could you not have found another way to raise the money
for the school?” asked Paul. He had been studying how Samoan people use the
forest plants for more than 10 years, and he was very unhappy to see the forest
disappearing. The 30,000 acres of rainforest surrounding Falealupo village on
the island of Savai’i in Western Samoa comprise one of the world’s
last surviving ancient tropical rainforests.
A village chief answered Paul. “Not enough money was coming
in from the village’s cash crop, cacao, because the season had been too
wet, and the harvest poor. So we reluctantly signed a licencing agreement with a
local logging company. The agreement allows the firm to cut down trees until the
school debt is paid off.” “We were really in bondage to this school,
and we didn’t know how in the world to pay off our debt.” said High
Chief Seumanutafa Siosi. “We support efforts to preserve the rainforest 100
per cent.”
By rich countries’ standards, Falealupo’s debt for
building the school might appear small - $55,000 - but it was a huge amount of
money for the community. So Paul Cox decided he must help the villagers raise
the money to pay for the school, and so preserve the rainforest.
First, he personally arranged for school payments to be made to
the bank over the next few months while he set about finding sources of funding.
He convinced Bat Conservation International to take over payments for several
further months while he searched for more money.
Paul figured out that it cost about $1.83 to save an acre of
rainforest on the island of Savai’i. “What an incredible legacy we
could leave the world with such a small amount of money!” reflected Paul.
With this thought in mind, he approached several potential donors. One thing he
made clear to people when he asked for their support was that, while money was
needed to buy the rainforest, the people living there must remain on the land.
Paul said, “While foreign ownership of rainforest land may be a good idea
in some countries, it is not acceptable in others.” Paul stressed it was
much better to work with island inhabitants by helping them economically, and
supporting their natural desire to preserve the tropical rainforests.
In December 1988, two manufacturers of natural products agreed
to support the Falealupo project, and by February 1989, the chiefs had received
$45,000 from these companies.
The donors and Falealupo’s high chiefs had also signed a
joint agreement prepared by Paul Cox. In the document, the donors had agreed to
give up any rights to the rainforest. The high chiefs, in return, promised to
preserve the land for 50 years. They also pledged to protect the wild plants and
animals of the forest, including endangered species such as the “flying
fox”, a fruit-eating bat that is the forest’s main pollinator.
The agreement does allow local people to collect forest plants
for medicinal use, and to take certain woods for carving ceremonial canoes,
homes and meeting houses. Small, traditional garden plots were also allowed, if
the villagers planted them along the edge of the forest and did not clear any
primary rainforest land. The agreement also gave Paul Cox and other scientists
permission to continue their research in the forest.
And how did Samoa thank Paul Cox for all his work? The chiefs
made him an honorary “high chief”!
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ACTIVITIES FOR OLDER STUDENTS
Identify a local wilderness area that is in danger of being
destroyed. Then,
(a) Write a letter to a potential donor requesting
funds to help the local community buy the area. In your letter, describe the
wildlife to be found in the region, and state clearly the reasons why you think
the area should be protected. Explain, too, how the local community might use
the area’s resources without ruining the environment.
(b) Prepare a hypothetical contract between a donor and the
local community which states clearly the rights and responsibilities that each
party has regarding the wilderness area. For example, the donor may agree to pay
for the land, and/or maintain a reserve, while giving up any rights of
ownership. Local people may, in return, agree to preserve the land and protect
its wildlife for a specific time, but be able to harvest medicinal plants,
fodder and fruits etc. from the region.
