Monteverde : Ecology and Conservation of a Tropical Cloud Forest

Species are disappearing at a far more rapid rate than

did the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period.

It is poor conservation strategy to bank on the argu-

ments of ecologists or economists alone, because the

most convincing case for tropical forests is simply that

the loss of species, like the destruction of a Renoir

painting or the Taj Mahal, would be a loss of resplen-

dence. Michelangelo's magnificent fresco "The Cre-

ation of Adam," which adorns the ceiling of the

Sistine Chapel, was recently restored at huge expense

by patrons of the arts, not because it is economically

valuable, but because it is inspired, intricate, irre-

placeable, historical, resplendent—the same qualities

that Monteverde's plants and animals possess.

Who can make the argument for preserving resplen-

dence? To begin with, musicians, artists, and writers

can, for they can translate aesthetic value into new

images. They can also show us a different way to see

objects that may appear at first to be commonplace,

ugly, or disturbing. Artists can illuminate the resplen-

dence of a flaming orange slime mold as it creeps along

a rotting log, or the power of a strangler fig as it silently

wrestles its host tree. Religious leaders and philoso-

phers have the training to raise the moral and philo-

sophical values of preserving species. Traditionally,

they have had the courage to explore life's most diffi-

cult issues. But so far their voices have hardly been

heard in the debate over biodiversity. Political leaders

have more direct power to protect species. Interna-

tional conferences such as the 1992 Earth Summit in

Rio de Janeiro have heightened public awareness of the

magnitude of environmental problems.

The most important roles in conservation can be

played by ordinary people. School teachers must in-

still curiosity and wonder, educating the next genera-

tion to understand and value the diversity of life. They

can begin by introducing their students to the plants

and animals in their local communities. Students can

learn the same biological principles in those places

that govern tropical forests and can witness, albeit

on a smaller scale, the same resplendence. Office

workers, garage mechanics, computer programmers

—everyone whose life is made richer and more inter-

esting by knowing tropical forests exist—can speak up

in support of spending the money and making the

sacrifices needed to preserve disappearing species.

We must develop persuasive arguments that endure,

not rely on short-term economic rationales or warn-

ings of ecological disasters. If tropical forests contain

a cure for AIDS, so much the better. If not, let us be

content with resplendence.

Note: This essay first appeared in the June 1, 1994

issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

HOW HAVE HUMANS AFFECTED BIRD POPULATIONS?

Bruce E. Young

he major effects of human activity on bird

populations in Monteverde have already

passed. Deforestation is not a current prob-

lem locally. Hunting pressure has diminished, at

least in the core protected areas, a situation in

marked contrast to the recent past. As recently as

1987, hunters on horseback with three or four hunt-

ing dogs would boldly ride through the MCFP en-

trance on their way to hunt tapir and Paca in the then-

unprotected Pefias Blancas valley. A bagged Black or

Crested Guan en route would serve as dinner. Squat-

ters and legitimate land owners in Pefias Blancas

enlarged their clearings whenever they had money

to buy gas for their chainsaws. Farmers on the Poco

Sol side of Pefias Blancas also felled old-growth for-

est, pushing their settlements closer to those higher

up in the valley.

This activity ceased precipitously with the Monte-

verde Conservation League's land-purchase campaign

in the Pefias Blancas valley, San Gerardo, which

gained momentum in the late 1980s and early 1990s

(see Chap. 10, Conservation Institutions). As cleared

forest regenerates and populations of large vertebrates

recover, discussion turns to the effects of the vastly

increased numbers of ecotourists on the very species

these people have traveled so far to see. What are the

effects of a continual stream of people walking on the

popular trails in the MCFP? Does use of tape record-

ings of bird calls by tour guides cause territory aban-

donment or otherwise disrupt social systems? In broad

spatial and temporal scales, the answer may not be

very important. Ecotourists directly influence just a

few hundred of the 20,000 ha preserved in Monte-

verde. Even if humans caused complete breeding fail-

ure in their areas of influence, their effects on bird

populations at the scale of the whole reserve system

would be minor. The international recognition and

fund-raising opportunities brought by the tourists

433 Conservation Biology

T