Wednesday,
11 September 2002
Regua
Once a unique
rain forest found nowhere else on earth—the Mata Atlantica—covered the east coast of Brazil. The Atlantic rain forests of Brazil
contain 20,000 species of plants, half of which are endemic, 1.6 million species of animals including insects,
73 endemic mammals, 160 endemic birds, and 128 endemic amphibians. Once
covering 15% of Brazilian territory, the forest have now been reduced to only 7% of their original size. The Mata Atlantica is considered one
of the most threatened rain forest ecosystems, second only to the jungle in Madagascar.
Although
the destruction of the Mata Atlantica began with the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1500’s, it was not until
the beginning of the 20th century that vast tracks of land were logged at a rapid rate. In
fact, the economic policy of Brazil through the 60’s was to log as much wood as quickly as possible to stimulate
growth. In
fact, during the 60’s there were literally hundreds of lumberyards, paper mills, and furniture companies devoted
to exploiting as much of the Mata Atlantica as they could. Studies
at the time showed that trees were being felled at ten times the rate of sustainable re-growth. Although there was some awareness of
the devastating impact of this sort of extensive deforestation dating back to the 30’s, it was not until the first
UN meeting on the environment (Stockholm 1972) that any real consciousness arose about protecting and conserving
the little remaining forest. A
decade later several protected areas began to emerge. Even
then, during the 90’s hundreds of acres were destroyed to plant Eucalyptus trees and build cities.
In the southern
states, like Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, the steep mountain terrain made logging difficult, so more of the
native forest is left in tact than in the Northeast. Nonetheless,
in Rio de Janeiro even the tops of the very highest peaks have been selectively logged at some point in the last
400 years. In
the mountains to the northeast of Rio de Janeiro I visited a small biological field station called the Reserva
Ecologica de Guapiaçu, or REGUA.
Biology:
REGUA is probably
in one of the most incredible places on earth, especially for anyone who likes bird watching. It is identified as one of the “centers
of endemism of birds” or areas where there is a high concentration of birds that live nowhere else. The reserve protects a corridor of
rainforest from lower to higher elevations, which is crucially important to many species of birds that migrate
between lowland forests and mountaintops.
Clean drinking
water in Brazil is becoming a scarce resource due to pollution, so the watershed protected by REGUA is locally
important. The
mountains are part of a range that spans hundreds of miles north and south, forming a crucial ecological corridor
for some species of butterflies, birds, and particularly mammals.
During my
visit I managed to see dozens of spectacularly colored tiny little birds feeding on fruits and berries in the canopy. I must admit, my interest in birds,
as well as my success in seeing and identifying them, was largely due to the help of Roger Littlewood and Jocelyn
Farrington--an avid bird watching English couple. From
Roger’s raptures upon raptures about the wonderful little creatures he had spotted in the trees, I too became more
interested in seeing and identifying some of the many hundreds of species of birds that inhabit the park. On his last day, Roger allowed me to
accompany him on a walk through the forest. Although
it was the worst time of day for seeing birds, in a short period of time we spotted about 20 different species,
a small fraction of the ones that live in the reserve.
In my walks
I saw several snakes, hundreds of butterflies, puma signs, and trails from peccaries. Darwin’s
words, “A most paradoxical mixture of sound and silence pervades the shady parts of the woods,” accurately describe
the sensation of being inside the Brazilian rain forest. In
all directions there are little points of noise coming from insects or birds while the rest of the jungle remains
still and silent.
The reserve
is surrounded by farmlands, and many of the areas at lower elevations were former coffee or banana plantations. Still today, there are relics of the
banana crop interspersed with the re-growth of the native forest. Above
the once-cleared areas, the primary forest remains more or less intact. However,
the entire area was probably selectively logged one hundred years ago or more.
Nonetheless,
there are still massive trees with buttress roots over 6 feet tall laden with hundreds of vines, bromeliads, orchids,
and other epiphytes. Although
they are infrequent, these giant trees are one of the most impressive parts of the native forest. They form, essentially, an entire miniature
ecosystem. The
fall of one of these giants clears a large area of forest in part because of the extensive reach of the branches,
but also because parasitic plants and lianas connect many trees together.
At higher
elevations massive shoots of bamboo grow about 6 inches in diameter. On
the very tops of the ridges the ground is much drier and covered in bamboo and small stunted trees. Flowering bromeliads grow on the ground
and nearly every other surface. By
climbing one of the small trees I gained a spectacular view of the surrounding mountain range, the forested valley
below, and the farmlands in the distance.
Culture:
The reserve is bordered by farmlands and several small towns. While
there, I accompanied the people who run the reserve to a meeting with interested members of the community of Guapiaçu
about the reserve. The
event was held in the local school, a typical rural Latin American educational facility. Remains
of termite tunnels stuck to the cracked plastered walls, and water dripped in from holes in the tile ceiling. Still, the building was quite cozy
with children’s drawings and posters about health, math, and the environment displayed around the room. Half an hour after the meeting was
supposed to start, the first few community members began trickling in. Mostly
women and children, about two dozen people showed up altogether, and more than half were local people from the
community. The
directors of the reserve explained their purpose, the importance of the area and the historic destruction of the
Mata Atlantica. At
the end there was a short slideshow that generated a lot of excitement in the audience, many of them having seen
the same species of snakes, birds, and bats near their own homes.
Piet Vroeg,
the director of REGUA, told me that the local response to the reserve was "positive, but passive." People
seem to support the idea of the reserve because they realize that much of the forest has already been destroyed,
many of the animals are rare, and that water is becoming a difficult resource to find. The
main conflict of interest between the locals and the reserve is the issue of hunting. Historically
hunting was very common in the area and helped to sustain many of the inhabitants. Darwin
wrote in his diaries, "The woods are so full of game they hunted and killed a deer on each of the three days
previous to our arrival."
The focus
of the hunt is the Red Brocket Deer, now extinct in the state of Rio de Janeiro and found only in the far south. The Brazilian Tapir also has disappeared
from the area due to overhunting.
Until very
recently, local people still hunted for recreation. In
fact, occasionally people still try to get away with it. REGUA
patrols the area with two local men who used to be hunters themselves. When
people are seen hunting, they are immediately contacted by the reserve and asked not to do it again. Piet told me that usually once contacted
the hunters usually deny their involvement and say that they support the reserve and the ban on hunting. There are still some members of the
community who say they refuse to be told what to do by the reserve, but Piet seemed to think that they voice their
opinion publicly mostly to project an image.
For three
generations an English family has run a nearby farm which shares a border with the reserve. I had the pleasure of meeting the man
who owns the property, Nicholas John Locke and his wife Raquel. Their
house still retains the rural 19th century Fazenda appearance and beautiful antique wood furniture fills the interior. In the back they have a lovely deep
pond with fish and aquatic snakes and an extraordinary garden full of many native species of plants and trees,
as well as a few exotic ones from various places around the world. On
their property they have between 400-500 head of cattle, and grow corn, yams, manioc. Formerly,
they cultivated rice, bananas, coconuts, lemons, and birds of paradise flowers. A
beautiful corridor of trees borders the road as it approaches their property, in exactly the rural European fashion.
Nicholas
and Raquel´s life is not unlike life on Fazendas during the 19th century, with the major exception being
that they do not, of course, own slaves. Instead,
they have workers from the nearby town who are given the choice of receiving a salary or working as sharecroppers. About a Fazenda he visited not far
from the Nicholas´ farm Darwin wrote, "As long as the idea of slavery could be banished, there was something
exceedingly fascinating in this simple style of living. It
was such a perfect retirement and independence from the rest of the world."
Aside from
running the Fazenda, Nicholas is the president of the NGO responsible for the reserve and some other adjacent properties. Raquel is the vice president.
Conservation is
a priority for both of them and they have sold the parts of their property that contain Mata Atlantica to the reserve. The valley where REGUA sits today has
been kept relatively well preserved in a large part because of the involvement of Nicholas´ family for nearly
an entire century. Nicholas
told me a famous anecdote about conservation. There
was a raging fire in the forest and all the animals were fleeing, except for one little humming bird who was filling
his beak with water and spraying it on the fire. All
the other animals told him that he was making no difference, but he responded that "if everyone did the same
thing, it would make a difference."
Weather:
Apparently I left Bahia just before the beginning of the dry season and arrived in Rio de Janeiro in time for the
beginning of the rainy season. I
noticed on the bus ride that the hills and forest nearing Rio were much drier than those in Bahia, but in my first
day at REGUA it rained heavily and the landscape quickly regained its luscious green coloring. It was surprisingly cold on several
nights in the reserve. One
night I was shivering while wearing an undershirt, a fleece, tights, nylon pants, and a hat due to the cold (and
probably the fact that there was no warm water for my shower). The
temperature was probably in the mid 50´s on a few nights while I was there, but generally in the 70´s
during the day and 60´s at night.
Dodging
Hummingbirds:
One morning flickering lights in the field station and then a sudden power outage awakened me. Then, within thirty seconds, there
was a loud roaring noise--like the bombers landing at McChord USAF Base--coming up the valley. Suddenly the wind was so incredibly
strong that it rattled the tiles on the roof, blew open my window, and began snapping off the tops of trees.
I was paralyzed
with shock at the sudden scene outside my window; it looked like the Apocalypse.
Trees were
crashing down, large branches flew through the sky, palm trees bent over in the wind, and the air was filled with
leaves and debris. Within
a few seconds a small pile of leaves accumulated in my room before I was able to close my window. Just as I left my room to get a better
look outside there sounded a loud, ceramic explosion from the roof. Broken
tiles came clattering down and as a branch scraped its way across the rest of the roof. More
wind, rain, and leaves entered the house from this six-foot hole in the roof. I
went outside and the sky was very dark and a little bit yellow. It
looked exactly like the pictures in the news about hurricanes. While
peering around the corner of the house into the wind I had to dodge branches, giant leaves, pelting rain, and—I
AM NOT KIDDING—hummingbirds!
Over the
powerful roar of the wind the frequent sound of branches falling and trees crashing down could be heard crackling
throughout the surrounding forest. A
giant thunderhead formed over the mountains, while other dark clouds rocketed through the sky. Within 15 minutes, the winds passed
and torrential rains ensued. By
the afternoon, it was actually sunny and clear. Birds
returned to their normal lives and butterflies visited flowers. If
it were not for the number of broken branches and toppled trees everywhere, it would look like a normal nice day.
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