From the forest to the consumer - GVces - Fundação Getulio Vargas

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collections abroad reflects something else other than past efforts to conserve
the global genetic heritage. These collections reflect the strategic importance
of studying and conserving these species, not only for their economic and
social value, but for their importance to the planet’s climate.
Inside the greenhouse, the chill from London’s evening is immediately
replaced by humid and warm air. “The temperature is kept at 24 degrees,” says
Prance. Underneath a mane of white hair, lurks the keen research mind of one
of the most renowned botanists specialized in species of the Amazon. In 1964,
after taking part in an expedition to the
Forests are essential forests of Suriname, he arrived in Bra-
to the well-being and zil to start research in partnership with
sustainability of the the National Institute of Amazon Rese-
planet. However, every arch (INPA in the Portuguese acronym),
year their area shrinks by founded a decade before in Manaus.
an average of 13 million “I got to Brazil just as the cycle of
hectares
large scale deforestation was beginning,
advanced mainly by government projects
such the Trans-Amazonian highway,” he says. Prance witnessed the onset of an
accelerating process of destruction that today, many decades later, has already
destroyed 17% of the original forest – an area equivalent to three times the state
of São Paulo.
Making sure that species from the Amazon are protected in botanical
gardens allows future generations to get to know them, but it does not mean
that today the impacts of deforestation on ecosystems are smaller than before.
On the contrary, forests are constantly threatened by fragmentation, deforestation,
fire, climate change and loss of biological diversity.
Despite the slower pace of deforestation seen in the last decade, absolute
numbers are still high. The latest report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) published in 2010, shows that the average forest
area cleared annually has fallen from 16 million hectares in the 1990s to 13