Headline, March 31 2021/ ''' '' MOTHER STUDENTS MOMENT '' ''' : CONSERVATION

''' '' MOTHER STUDENTS

 MOMENT '' ''' : CONSERVATION

NATURE IS HEALTHIER ON THE more than a quarter of the world's land that Indigenous people manage or own, according to several scientific studies.

Indigenous managed land in Brazil, Canada and Australia has as much or more biodiversity than land set aside for conservation by national and other government's, researchers have found.

That is in stark contrast to the history of conservation, which has a troubled record of forcing people off their land. So, it is with a mixture of hope and worry that many indigenous leaders view this latest global goal, known as 30x30, led by Britain, Costa Rica and France.

Some want a higher target - more than 50 percent, according to Mr. Diaz Mirahal's organization - while others fear that they may once again be pushed out in the name of conservation.

WITH A MILLION SPECIES AT RISK OF EXTINCTION - dozens of countries are pushing to protect at least 30 percent of the planet's land and water by 2030.

Their goal is to hammer out a global agreement at negotiations to be held in China this year, designed to keep intact areas like old-growth forests and wetlands that nurture biodiversity, store carbon and filter water.

But many people who have been protecting nature successfully for many generations won't be deciding on the deal : Indigenous communities and others who have kept room for animals, plants and their habitats, not by fencing off nature but making a small living from it. The key to their success, research shows, is not extracting too much.

In the Brazilian Amazon, indigenous people put their bodies on the line to protect native land threatened by loggers and ranchers. In Canada, a First Nations group created a huge park to block mining.

In Papua New Guinea, fishing communities have set up no-fishing zones. And in Guatemala, people living in a sprawling nature reserve are harvesting high-value timber in small amounts. In fact some of those logs could end up new bike lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.

''If you're going to save only the insects and the animals and not indigenous people, there's a big contradiction,'' said Jose Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, who leads an umbrella group, the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin. ''Were one ecosystem.''

To IIiana Monterroroso, an environmental scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research in Lima, Peru, what matters is that people who live in areas of high biodiversity have a right to manage those areas.

She pointed to the example of the Mayan Biosphere Reserve, a territory of two million hectares in Guatemala, where local communities have managed the forest for 30 years.

Under temporary contracts with the national government, they began harvesting limited quantities of timber and allspice, selling ornamental palms and running tourism agencies. They had an investment to protect. ''The forest became the source of livelihood,'' Dr. Monterroso said. ''They were able to gain tangible benefits.''

Jaguars, spider monkeys and 535 species of butterflies thrive there. Community-managed forests have fewer forest fires, and there is almost zero rate of deforestation, according to researchers.

Erwin Mass is among the hundreds of Gautemalans who live there, too. He and his neighbours run a community-owned business in the village of Uaxactun. Mahogany is plentiful, but they can only take so much. Often, it's one or two trees per hectare per year, Mr. Maas said. Seed-producing trees are left alone.

''Our goal is to sustain ourselves with a small amount and always take care of the forest,'' he said.

The Honor and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on the State Of The World and Conservation, continues. The World Students Society thanks authors Somini Sengupta, Catrin Einhorn and Manuela Andreoni.

With respectful dedication to the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

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