In an excellent post over at NPR, Lourdes Garcia-Navarro describes a day on the front lines. What is remarkable is how insightful and dedicated these local people are to conserving their forest, rather than giving in to the desire to cash in on its value.
“Rubber tapper Helenílson Felix stands near the stump of a tree that was felled by illegal logging. The tappers explained that this is how deforestation begins: The forest is thinned of its biodiversity, picked apart tree by tree.”
And it appears that despite putting up a strong effort, they are losing the fight.
