One sentence that I really like, and that Brazilians consider as a lema is: "Na Amazonia é nossa" (the Amazon forest is ours).

It may sound a little bit selfish nowadays, especially with all this carbon-credit market surrounding us, but I think that is the right path to follow when looking for a solution to this problem. In my opinion, too many developed countries (including most of Europe) are more or less dependent, in terms of resources, on other countries underdeveloped. Even though these "richer" countries say that they are currently sustainable, that is not really true since they "bring" the problem of sustainable development to other parts of the planet.

The main focus nowadays should be on how each country can find its own path in the development process, but with a lower dependency on others. It is true that the implementation of global trade has also some benefits, but a high degree of dependency should be avoided.

Given the rate at which the area seems to be exploited, this seems a difficult but not impossible task. However, this requires not just a technical, but also a cross functional approach involving local people as well as the Government. This will involve out of the box thinking. A similar trend is visible in the equatorial forests of Asia, where acreages under oil palm are increasing rapidly. For whatever it is worth, at least a perennial crop is being planted there, instead of largely annuals or pasture grasses. However long term consequences can only be expected in both instances.

Most of the crops cultivated in these areas are grown for export markets largely in the developed world, but in the case of edible oil also to markets like India and China. One of the conundrums that will have to be addressed is that as prosperity increases, dietary habits tend to change and more people start eating more meat and fried foods. We all know that more land area is required to meet this spurt in demand, than if people all over the world were vegetarians. So I guess, one way of tackling this would be for innovations in the area of making vegetarian products that look and feel like meat. Being relatively inexpensive compared to animal products, if these products are just like the real stuff, more people might decide to use these regularly. Even a slight change in dietary habits could translate to significant positive impacts on the irreplaceable rain forests.

Another could be to popularise forest produce with health benefits and ensure the collection and processing of these is dominated by indegenous people who live in the forest. They would then develop a vested interest in protecting their forests.

A third, could possibly be to allow scientific exploitation of timber instead of clear felling, again involving indegenous people as stakeholders.Every tree felled, is replaced by 2 -4 saplings of the same species in the same area so there will be automatic replenishment and degradation could be minimised. This way the forest could remain more productive over a long period and the negative impact of deforestation could be avoided.

And one final comment, we will need to raise agricultural productivity in existing arable land while maintaining the quality of soil and by recycling water. Otherwise, shortage of food will only encourage even greater deforestation.

While my country, India does not have an enviable record of conservation, one fact has to be admired. Our population at the time of independence was about 256 million, now it is more than 4 times that, yet the arable area of about 160 million hectares has remained virtually unchanged. This is because of scientists like the late Dr. Norman Borlaug who provided the technology for triploid dwarf varieties of wheat to the developing world virtually free of cost. This technology was also used for increasing yields of rice. Today, India is one of the top producers in the world for both crops. A large part of the developing world will forever be indebted to this great man.

With our current technolgy for crop production, there is an over reliance on chemical inputs, high cost seeds and irrigation. There is a resultant degradation of soil and depletion of water resources which could manifest themselves over the next 20 years. Unless we recognise this and work sincerely to make this happen, then saving of the rain forests of the world will become more arduous.

The bright side is that such technology already exists. It is eco friendly, does not cost the moon, reduces the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides and improves the quality of soil AND helps crops withstand drought better. Productivity can be made to go up by 20 -70% and I have seen this happen.

Of course man does have the know how to farm the oceans and use algae to bolster availability of food eventually. Then, there is always space - the final frontier.

Thanks for the answer, it was so claryfying!

I totally agree with two of your solutions:

1) adding value to tropical forests. That means offering other interesting alternatives to land owners, in terms of production of tropical fruits, and non-wood forest products. With that, land owners may not clear cut their lands, yes.

2) changing food habits of the population. I do not think that the best solution is to convert ourselves into vegetarians, but maybe we can be much aware about the origin of what we eat, we can consume much more local products.

Your question is simple, but the answer is very complex.

In response to your two points:

1. Yes,, thus would certainly help. There is a whole body of literature on the concept of "ecosystem services" that help doing just that. And practically, the discussions around climate policies and particularly REDD and REDD+ could help providing value to carbon stocks and thus to standing biomass in trees.

2. Many scenario developers agree on one thing: Something has to fundamentally change if we are to reach sustainable development. Yet, in the specific case of the Brazilian Amazon: there is so much degraded land that could be reused, that a growing population could be supported without deforestation.

And besides, I am moderately optimistic that a range of policies that are in place at the moment will be enforced to a level that can help (further) reducing deforestation! So I am not that pessimistic.. See for example the new Forest Code.

Changing food habits can be made possible in many ways, necessity, availability of equally good, indistunguishable vegetarian alternatives and good marketing. Just imagine 3 - 4 decades ago Chinese cuisine, pizzas, Macs and KFC were unheard of in many parts of the world, today they are ubiquitous.At least there can be an earnest attempt made and there is certainly no dearth of talent in the world.Kellog's corn flakes and breakfast cereals were never consumed in India, now in a few years nearly 10 -15% of the urban breakfast market comprises cereals which is a significant change. Even a small change could mean saving hundreds of thousand of acres of pristine rain forest.Don't you think it is at least worth a try? This might even mean a value added industry for Brazil which is probably the largest soybean producer in the world today.

With meat prices crossing USD 6.6 and good fish costing USD 20/kg, surely a market can be had for vegetarian meat if it can be made as good as the real thing. Meat is certainly not going to get cheaper.We all know how inflation and the state of the economy is pinching common people even in relatively affluent parts of the world, just imagine what the situation is in the developing world where millions live below the poverty line. Cheaper protein supplements are not just a fad but a dire necessity. And cheap does not necessarily have to be poor tasting.

I was surprised to find that in a country like Vietnam, where the population is largely non vegetarian, increasing numbers of people are going in for "Buddha" meat, a concoction made from tofu, slight improvements will make it a great success all over the world. The fact that it is also good for diabetics is an added attraction. I feel increasingly, diet will also be influenced by chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer, foods which have more anti oxidants compared to meat will always find takers.

If all else fails, Brazil is blessed with some of the world's top assets who can be great brand ambassadors for a worthy cause, if motivated to do so.

It is good that policy makers are aware and willing to do their bit, however the real test and often the more difficult one, lies in translating intent into action at the field level.

Dear Marc and Dr Kok,

I wonder how serious a problem SOD is in Europe? I have read that this disease is wiping out large sections of oaks and other species in your forests. What are the management practices adopted and how cost effective have they been?

If all else has failed, I have a small suggestion. I have worked for managing a related species, Phytophthora citrii in India which is devastating our mandarins (kinnows). I have found over the last 2 years that trees which were destined to be uprooted and destroyed are now bearing good quality fruits and while symptoms of the disease have not completely disappeared, trees are now looking healthier.

If application of such products in large tracts of forests presents a problem, at least these can be used for treating saplings which are to be transplanted in forests. Of course, I have tried my microbial cultures in the warm climes of India, but they seem to be providing much longer term protection than chemical fungicides.

Variations of this microbial consortium could possibly be made to cover other soil borne pathogens like Ceratocystis and Armillaria. Currently, I am trying my methods against Oil Palm diseases like Ganoderma basal stem rot. I should have some results in a couple of years.

I would like to recommend everyone of you to watch some Netflix Serie I saw last night #Chef´sTable (all The Serie) But Specially the Episode 5 of "Jeong Kwan" a Buddhist nun a world respectful chef in North Corea....

I am not at all Buddhist, but I can respect some of others practices and incorporate them into my life to respect this great part of Nature, that is essential to evolve as human beings.