Feature photo by roblee

Serra do Divisor National Park

This park includes a huge swath of Amazon rainforest, notably the Serra do Divisor mountain range along the Brazilian-Peruvian border.

Photo by islandspice

The Amazon rainforest is as large as Western Europe or the entire United States. It covers 5 percent of the world’s land, and is thought to be the most diverse ecosystem on Earth – home to nearly 10 percent of the world’s mammals and 15 percent of the world’s terrestrial plant species.

It is home to more than 20 million people, including an estimated 220,000 people from 180 different indigenous nations. This forest ecosystem is also one of the most threatened on the planet.

Muir Woods National Park

The ancient forest ecosystems of North America are extremely diverse. Included in this system is the boreal forest belt stretching between Newfoundland and Alaska; the coastal temperate rainforest of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Western Canada; and the myriad of residual areas of temperate forest surviving in more remote regions.

These forests store massive amounts of carbon, which helps to stabilize climate change. They also provide habitat for large mammals such as grizzly bear, grey wolf, and puma.

Muir Woods National Park is home to one of the last coastal stands of redwood in the San Francisco Bay are.

Defensores del Chaco National Park

The temperate forest ecosystem of South America, which covers areas of Southern Chile and Argentina, represents the largest tract of essentially undisturbed temperate forest in the world.

The Great Chaco and Yungas Rainforests of Argentina are neighboring ecosystems within this forest complex. Rich in biodiversity, they are home to rare jaguars.

The forests here are being destroyed faster than almost anywhere else in the world. The rate of destruction has accelerated even further after Monsanto introduced genetically engineered soya beans to Argentina .

Lake Khovsgol National Park

The Snow Forests of Asian Russia have contiguous tracts of land ranging from the arctic zone in northeastern Sahha, to the subtropical region along the Amur and Ussuri river basins to the south. Because of its large size, the Amur-Sakhalin region shelters more types of plants and animals than any other temperate forest in the world. Many of these species are unique to this area and exist nowhere else.

The Snow Forests of Asian Russia are also home to indigenous peoples including the Nanai of the Kahbarovsk region.

Photo by mr-c

Ovre Pasvik National Park

The last ancient forests of Europe encompass the last few remaining tracts in Scandinavia with the adjoining forest of European Russia . This contiguous forest area provides habitat for many species that require large tracts of unbroken land such as bears, flying squirrels, and the highly endangered eagle owl.

These boreal forests are also home to tens of thousands of indigenous peoples, such as the reindeer-herding Saami.

Rinjani National Park

The cultural diversity of this area is astounding – more than 1000 languages are spoken on the island of New Guinea alone.

These contiguous forests stretch from South East Asia, across the islands of Indonesia to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. The island of New Guinea , the world’s second largest island, has the largest continuous tracts of primeval forest in the Asia Pacific region.

The Paradise Forests are home to a rich diversity of species, many of which occur nowhere else on earth. The Sumatran Tiger, the Orangutan, and the Rafflesia, a one meter-wide flower, all reside here.

Virunga National Park

Home of the Congo rainforest, this is the second largest rainforest on earth after the Amazon. This enormous forest covers and area three times the size of France, and plays a vital role in regulating the global climate. It is the fourth largest forest carbon reservoir of any country in the world.

The gorilla, chimpanzee, and bonobo – primates that are our closest relatives, depend on the Congo for survival. This forest is also home to 270 species of mammals, of which 39 are unique to this area.

Tens of millions of people, Bantu farmers, the Twa people, and fishing communities, depend on the Congo for their survival.

Regional causes of forest loss and degradation vary, but the primary factors are agricultural expansion, settlement, mining, shifting agricultural crops, and infrastructure development. Recent research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) indicates that, “commercial logging poses by far the greatest danger to frontier forests…affecting more than 70 percent of the world’s threatened frontiers.”

Community Connection

What can you do to help? Besides visiting these places and studying the issues facing them firsthand, check out the Rainforest Action Network , and Nativeforest.org.

Are you a member of a conservation org or know someone who is? We encourage you to join our network of organizations at matador, where you’ll find a captive audience of thousands of travelers and environmentally-conscious people worldwide.

Feature photo by tim.matsui. Photo by camera_rwanda

2008 witnesses the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in America. Amidst the celebrations, what many people fail to realize is that slavery persists today in the modern world on an enormous scale.

In spite of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the UN in 1948 stating that “slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,” the figures accompanying the modern slave trade seem inconceivable in a global society that prides itself upon its modern-day values and emphasis on human rights.

1. There are more people in slavery now than at any other time in human history.

According to research carried out by the organization Free the Slaves, more people are enslaved worldwide than ever before.

In its 400 years, the transatlantic slave trade is estimated to have shipped up to 12 million Africans to various colonies in the West. Free the Slaves estimates that the number of people in slavery today is at least 27 million.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center suggests that three out of four slavery victims are women and that half of all modern-day slaves are children. ‘Countless other’ people are in other forms of servitude which are not legally classified as slavery, according to the Anti-Slavery Society, described ambiguously by some as ‘unfree labour’.

2. The value of slaves has decreased.

A slave in 1850 in American South cost the equivalent of approximately $40,000. According to figures published by FST, the cost of a slave today averages around $90, depending on the work they are forced to carry out.

Photo by saibotregeel

A young adult male laborer in Mali might only fetch $40, whereas an HIV-free female might attract a price of up to $1000.

Expert Kevin Bales says that because modern slavery is so cheap, it is worse than that of the Atlantic slave trade.

People have become disposable and their living conditions are worse than ever before as a result of their value.

3. Slavery still exists in the US.

Estimates by the US State Department suggest up to 17,500 slaves are brought into the US every year, with 50,000 of those working as prostitutes, farm workers or domestic servants.

According to the CIA, more than 1,000,000 people are enslaved in the US today. Thousands of cases go undetected each year and many are difficult to take to court as it can be difficult to prove force or legal coercion.

4.Slavery is hidden behind many other names, thus disguising it from society.

These names are chattel slavery (the traditional meaning of slavery), bonded labor, trafficking, forced labor, and forced marriage, amongst others.

Photo by saibotregeel

5. The least known method of slavery is the most widely used.

Bonded Labor occurs when labor is demanded in order to repay a debt or loan and the cyclical nature of debt and work can enslave the person for the rest of their life. Some conditions are so controlled that slaves are surrounded by armed guards while they work, many of whom are slaves themselves. This has been found in Brazil. It is estimated that there are 20 million bonded labourers in the world.

6. Human trafficking has recently been described as “the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.”

This shocking claim was made by former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright. The UN estimates trafficked human cargo generates around $7 billion dollars a year.

Photo by gigawebs

7. To buy all bonded laborers out of slavery could cost as little as $40 per family.

The $40 figure was provided by the Center for Global Education, New York. Kevin Bales compares the total cost of ending all slavery with one’s week’s cost of the war on Iraq.

8. Free the Slaves believe it is possible to end all slavery within 25 years.

Ending slavery won’t be easy, but humanity is up to the challenge.

9. Many slave-produced goods might reach your home without you realizing their origin.

Industries where slave labor is often highly suspected include cocoa, cotton, steel, oriental rugs, diamonds and silk. Currently the only way to ensure the products you buy are slave-free is to buy Fair Trade certified goods.

Photo by saibotregeel

10. Your actions affect global slavery.

By buying fair trade, learning more about modern slavery, spreading the word, and joining a movement such as Free the Slaves, Anti-Slavery International, or the American Anti-slavery group, you as an individual can help abolish slavery completely.

With the number of slaves rising due to increasing economic returns, a universal lack of awareness and anti-slavery laws not being enforced, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center believes “efforts to combat slavery will have only limited effectiveness” unless something is done on a larger scale.

The bicentennial of the abolition of the slave trade would be better commemorated by every individual taking meaningful action to help end the exploitation of human labor once and for all.

Community Connection

Slavery is a sober matter, an issue humanity must confront immediately. We need to communicate, to organize at grass-roots level.Please consider joining the global Matador community today. Share your voice.