http://https://live.staticflickr.com/5671/23086753890_0eda8cfc8f_b.jpg

El Yunque National Park, Photo by Geoff Gallice, 2o19

During the summer of 2021, Max volunteered in Puerto Rico for an organization that was working to plant trees and try and rehabilitate damaged forests on the island. The island had recently been hit by Hurricane Maria, which not only affected humans but also devastated the forests on the island. Older and taller trees were particularly at risk. Global warming is also likely to make these tropical storms even more likely. However, climate change and hurricanes are not the primary cause of the forest’s ills. Humans are. 

One of the things that Max learned during his trip was that human destruction made up the largest proportion of damage done to the environment. Logging and the razing of forests were two significant activities that degraded the environment. 

Now what of the project that Max was working on? Certainly, the goal is admirable, but how effective is it? 

“It depends on the metric…” said Max. He stated that the “…the project was quite successful…” but also mentioned that the “project was quite localized… only in one rainforest”, going so far as to say that there was “…limited overall effect…”. Furthermore, he also cited concerns about a lack of infrastructure, funding and a great deal more work that needs to be done in relation to this problem. 

With climate change accelerating and much permanent damage already having been done, the future of these forests remains uncertain. 

The link of the program is included below should the reader be interested.

https://eyeontherainforest.org/

Citations:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El_Yunque_National_Forest,_Puerto_Rico_by_Geoff_Gallice_-_002.jpg – Image

Max Young