Deforestación en Venezuela arriesga el desarrollo sustentable

Abstract

El presente ensayo es una reflexion sobre el grave y principal problema ambiental que viene presentando Venezuela en los ultimos anos: la deforestacion. Este es uno de los paises considerados como megadiversos ya que, por ejemplo, tiene 15.000 especies vegetales identificadas. El contraste a esta realidad ecologicamente positiva es que, como pais, ocupa el decimo lugar en el mundo, entre las naciones con mayor tasa de deforestacion. Sumandole otro contexto adverso, que de manera directa influye sobre la perdida o posibilidad de restituir coberturas forestales, en la actualidad los indicadores de la produccion de alimentos son negativos, lo cual significa que no hay eficiencia en el uso de las tierras destinadas a la actividad agropecuaria, aumentando las perspectivas de demanda de territorios para nuevos usos agroindustriales en la generacion de productos alimenticios; nuevos espacios urbanos y sus infraestructuras de servicios; suministro de productos forestales a la industria de la construccion de viviendas y del mueble; o las necesidades de ostentacion de la poblacion con articulos de oro y diamantes, que han motivado la explotacion minera a cielo abierto en ecosistemas boscosos del estado Bolivar, cuyos resultados en prospectiva en materia de impactos ambientales negativos y de procurar el desarrollo sostenible en Venezuela, visualizan un aumento de los indices de perdida de cobertura forestal. Palabras clave: ecologia forestal, ecosistemas, perdida de cobertura forestal, impactos ambientales. Abstract Deforestation in Venezuela endangers sustainable development Prior to the period of 1960’s, Venezuela boasted more than 60% of its national territory covered with natural forest, placing the country as one of the 17 nations with major biodiversity in the world. Since then, however, drastic changes have taken place in vegetation coverage in the country, especially from 1999 and onward when major shift in politics have been put forward by the present regime. For the current study, we have analyzed available statistical data and vegetation maps to elucidate patterns of deforestation and concomitant environmental impacts. We identified that the forest in lower plains north of Orinoco River has been exhausted, while there is a deforestation front in south of this river. Additionally, throughout the country, intense deforestation is in progress, even in areas protected as national parks. Eliminating forest indiscriminately results in excessive sedimentation problems in bodies of water. Maintenance cost for some dams for hydroelectric as well as irrigation purpose has become prohibitive. Some have become inoperative. Consequently, in various localities, continuous blackouts and lack of potable water have become frequent. It is evident that the politics of the country in terms of forest management is to augment first the land area dedicated to agriculture and cattle farming, rather than improving technologies for achieving higher productivities per unit area. Key words: forest ecology, ecosystem, losses, forest cover, environmental impact.