Willie Smits, a Brazilian biologist, purchased land in Borneo and re-grew rainforest to create a new habitat for Orangutang, as well as sustainable economic opportunities for local inhabitants. Borneo’s rainforest was burned for fertilizer and to create space for plants used for biofuels. Smits has a blueprint for restoring other rainforests, and describes how his plan is a ‘recipe’ for addressing the different needs of animals, plants and people.
Smits discusses how sugar palms, if planted around restored rainforest, can create a buffer against burning and can be tapped for biofuels in a sustainable manner to create economic opportunities for locals. To restore burnt-out rainforest area, Smits brought in fast-growing trees, slower-growing trees between them, and fungi with the aim of restoring, step-by-step, the rainforest’s enormous diversity. 1,000 trees were planted per day and their growth was monitored via satellite.
According to Smits, trees trigger rainfall in tropical zones, whereas ice crystals create rain in temperate areas in most developed countries. As a result, re-growing the rainforest changed the local weather: Temperatures came down 3-5 degrees celsius, clouds increased 11 percent, and rainfall increased 20 percent. 137 species of birds have returned to live in the restored area.
Smits discusses the positive, inter-connected effects that result from restoring the rainforest. Watch the video on Ted.com
Also, check out a video on Nalini Nadkarni’s work on rainforest treetop ecosystems.
