Act to prevent last great global land grab

Letter from Shawn Lum, President Nature Society (Singapore), Straits Times Forum 31 Jul 08;

A REPORT two weeks ago by the Rights and Resources Initiative suggests that by 2030, about five million sq km of additional land - equivalent to roughly two-thirds the size of Australia, or seven times the area of Borneo - will be required to meet rising global demand for food, biofuels and wood. The report estimated that more than half of those land needs could come at the expense of tropical forested areas unless action is taken now to prevent what it called the 'last great global land grab'.

We don't need to be ecologists, hardcore 'greenies' or 'tree huggers' to realise that, if our forests are in trouble, all of humanity will soon be in trouble too.

Forests provide services no amount of technology, manpower or money can replicate. They regulate climate and facilitate rainfall, they absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, they reduce the risk of floods and landslides associated with excessive rainfall runoff, and they are the 'green lungs' of the planet.

Forests provide us with food, are a source of medicines, and supply us with many other necessities. Tropical forests also provide a home for at least 50 per cent of all life on land, while occupying a small fraction of the world's land area. Forests are more than a collection of trees, and provide their services when they are maintained as intact, functioning ecosystems.

People in Singapore, like others in developed nations, have the luxury of choosing what to consume, how much to consume, and how to invest one's hard-earned income. Making simple choices about what to eat, how much we recycle, minimising our throwaway habits, or examining the environmental track records of the companies we decide to invest in can determine how much we contribute to harming - or healing - the natural world.

We need to treat the forests that support us with greater respect. We need to see the link between our everyday lifestyle choices and their impact on the environment. And we each need to make a link between the head and heart, between what we know and what we choose to do about it, and that goes for tree huggers and non-tree huggers alike.

Shawn Lum
President and Chairman, Plant Group
Nature Society (Singapore)