Customer Reviews

Breakfast Of Biodiversity: The Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vandermeer and Perfecto step forward with a review of a difficult and complex subject. Their analysis does not show the one-sided perspective that many do; they address the root causes of the problem of Deforestation in Tropical America. The book is excellent in its readability, depth, and human approach to what too many scientists try to explain as a purely biological problem. Gerald R. Urquhart Ph.D.

"Breakfast of Biodiversity" by John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto is a critical analysis of the myriad forces that are driving the destruction of the world's tropical rain forests, with particular emphasis on Central America where the authors have been engaged for many years of hands-on research and field work. The authors write in this, the 2005 second edition about the important insights and lessons that have been learned since the book's first edition published in 1995. Presenting knowledge gained through both scholarly research and their own practical experiences, the authors help us understand that narrowly-focused solutions to solving environmental problems will inevitably come up wanting in the absence of wider, more meaningful socio-political changes. The result is a sobering but ultimately empowering text that allows us to better understand both the challenge and the promise of saving the earth's remaining rain forests.

The authors explain how rain forests are neither fragile nor stable, discussing how rain forests can recover relatively quickly from short-term disruptions such as clear-cut logging operations but can suffer long-lasting damage from industrial agriculture and, of course, urbanization. We come to appreciate the wide variety of rain forest types as well as their common characteristics, shedding light on how humans might be able to make better strategic use of the land and live in harmony with the rain forest.

The idea that managing land under cultivation in a sustainable and socially equitable manner appears to be a surprisingly effective proposal when compared with the oftentimes ineffective method of land conservation that has often been favored by mainstream environmental groups. In fact, the authors compare the fate of rain forest lands over time to make their point: in Nicaragua, more rain forest had been saved as a result of the progressive land redistribution policies of the Sandinista government that in Costa Rica, where market forces have compelled the poor to convert so-called protected areas of the rain forest to farmland. Unfortunately, when the Sandinistas lost power in the 1990s, the neoliberal policies favored by the succeeding administration quickly unraveled these gains and resulted once again in an accelerated loss of rain forest lands.

However, the authors are hopeful that the anti-globalization movement can help to unravel the dense web that connects international capital with third world indebtedness, arguing that if inequality can be minimized then the poverty that drives desperate people into the rain forest can be curtailed. Therefore, the authors hope that their book will compel environmentalists to unite with social and political activists in an united effort to call for meaningful change in the world economic system. While this may be a tall order, the penetrating analysis contained in this exceptional book suggests that such a strategy is the only credible solution to solving one of humankind's most formidable problems.

I highly recommend this accessible, informative and enlightening book to everyone.

As a professional in the environmental area in Central America, I applaud Vandermeer and Perfecto's explanations of the workings of man in the humid tropical forests of our region. These are not easy issues, yet they manage to leave the reader with a sense of the urgency without oversimplifying or becoming preachy. This book is best for someone who is really interested in the political ramifications of US policy in the tropics, or for someone interested in working in the environment overseas.

This book is an excellent overview of the issues that cause rainforest deforestation, and gives an idea of the overall complexity facing conservation efforts on every level worldwide. Highly recommended.

The binding is, however, awful! Hard, with no give. During the first read through I broke the binding about a third of the way through. I was very careful after that, but about two-thirds of the way through, while reviewing some concepts, the binding broke again. When I say broke, I mean, completely broke to the point where the pages are coming out. I've owned this book for just a few weeks, and have gone through it twice. I've never seen a binding like this, and implore the publisher to reconsider this binding-type, it is awful!

A slim volume that pack a punch.It highlights the global nature of the problem, stressing that rainforests can and indeed do regenerate, but not if the disturbance is too great.
Food insecurity and lack of land tenure are cited as important driving forces, and conventional, purist models of conservation, while satisfying the hopes and desires of lobbies in the wealthy developed world, fail to address the human dilammas that are so important.
A 'Political Ecological Strategy' if offered as a solution that takes heed of all the strands of the 'web of destruction' both in a local and a global context, and although not suggesting that the future is 'rosy', it does offer a glimmer of hope.
A book to be thoroughly recommended to all those who are interested in the future of the rainforest, its people and the planet.An excellent read.

I was drawn to this book because of the foreword by Vandana Shiva. I kept reading it. It does a good job of looking at several of the different variables causing rain forest destruction and keys in on land and food as major factors. Clear and easily read. Not to long or overly verbose.

My social science teacher recommended this book when we had a section on rain forest conservation. It was an real eye opener to deforestation in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The authors of this book make it a smooth, easy yet informational read with their wit and charm. I definitely recommend this book even if it isn't for class.

This is a powerful and concise book. Within the book are the equations and succinct explanations of for example, how the demand for bananas causes long term cycles of forest destruction as workers immigrate into banana production areas and eventually are forced out of plantation work with the only option of clearing additional forest for their own survival.

The authors also make a clear presentation of the problems of small pristine tropical park reserves in a sea of agriculture showing reduction of biodiversity as compared to landscapes that may be less pristine from mild to moderate farming and logging having more sustainable biodiversity. Here the argument is presented that less intensive agriculture (shade coffee,small plot farming) may both diminish poverty and loss of biodiversity.

Other books that relate well to the subject of social justice and biodiversity preservation are: The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest by Andrew Revkin; Requiem for Nature by John Terboough; and Contested Nature: Protecting International Biodiversity and Social Justice in the Twenty-First Century by Steven Brechin.

Wonderfully researched, if sometimes dryly written. If you like this book, then you'll likely find something interesting in the coffee-table book, Costa Rica: The Last Country the Gods Made.

The essays, " New Conservation in the Costa Rican Parks System" and "House Made of Rain" touch on many of the things discussed in Vandermeer's text.