The demise of the once great Atlantic Rainforest (or Mata Atlantica as it is called here) is an environmental and human tragedy. Once one of the world’s most ecologically rich forests covered nearly 1.5 million square kilometres of the eastern side of tropical and sub-tropical South America, today it covers just 10,000 square kilometres – sounds a lot, but most of this is highly fragmented, consisting of tiny, disconnected patches and is worth in total only a few per cent of the original. Yet, even these scant fragments retain some of the richest life on earth.
The orgy of forest destruction kicked off in the 19th century, long before a global environmental consciousness might have mitigated some of the damage, and continued well into the 20th century, particularly in south-east Brazil in the Rio de Janeiro/ Soa Paulo region, as urban development went crazy (and through which I am currently travelling). Within a human life-time, a slave-subsidised economy had erased much of a verdant forest – animals, plants and people – to enable short-sighted coffee and sugar cane plantations and cattle ranches. Short-lived soil fertility soon meant coffee could not be grown, and the end of slavery ended a false economy founded on servitude. Grass then covered the land for thousands of square kilometres to enable cattle ranching. Much of this grass is of African origin, introduced either deliberately for pasture, or accidently as the bedding for the slave ships that was disposed of as a foetid mess when these tragic vessels docked in the New World. Today, the soil is kept artificially fertile with chemicals, but these don’t stop it eroding in the rain. Red soil, instead of green grass, now dominates the colour scheme of many hills, while many small farmers are caught in a low-value, cattle-farming poverty trap.
There was once a forest here that stimulated the mind of no lesser a man than Charles Darwin |
Although this is supremely depressing, there are people working hard to reverse this historic destruction. I am taking a series of bus journeys through this utterly changed landscape,to explore three different projects trying to restore and create a more sustainable forest-based economy from the remnants of the Mata Atlantica.
My taxi driver taking me to the Rodoviario Novo Rio (Rio's main bus terminal) is very chatty and, inspiringly, has learned his English in his taxi while waiting for the likes of me. He looks like a less pretty version of Belgian action film star, Jean-Claude van Damme and, like all taxi drivers everywhere, he offers unsolicited insight on politics, philosophy and women and, like all taxi drivers, he fleeces the gullible Englishman. However, he does offer me some sound advice on how not to get mugged in Rio’s enormous main bus station, making me even more paranoid than normal.
My destination is only 80 km north of Rio, but it takes nearly five hours through traffic hell – apparently it’s a public holiday weekend and everyone is leaving the city. Still, it’s a sunny day and it provides a good opportunity to examine my unfolding surroundings as we leave the city and enter the countryside.
Favela street |
Crawling further north, agriculture begins to dominate and the rivers become gradually cleaner. There is cattle ranching, and increasingly forested hills are starting to gain my attention. It is in their direction that I am heading.
Through the bus window |
My next blog posting will describe the uplifting projects that I visited during this period, so try not to get too depressed!
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