THE CHILEAN ALERCE: ON THE ROAD TO EXTINCTION?
The Alerce, or Chilean Larch (Fitzroya cupressoides), is one of the most emblematic species of Chile, and is condemned to disappear if the government does not take immediate measures to avert its destruction. Its distribution in Chile is between the parallels 39o 50’ and 43o 30’ south latitude. It grows principally in the Coastal and Andes mountain ranges, generally at altitudes of between 700 and 1,000 meters above sea level. It can grow to be 50 meters high and 5 meters in diameter. It is one of the oldest trees in the world, with some individuals living to be more than 3,600 years old. Some studies indicate that in the year 1550, approximately 617,077 hectares of Alerce forest existed. Today, only 263,191 hectares remain. Of the remaining forest, 17% is protected by the state, and only 2.6% of that protected area is in the coastal mountain range. In 1973, Alerce was included under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, which prohibits its exportation. In 1976, the Chilean government declared Alerce a Natural Monument through Supreme Decree No. 490 and its exploitation was prohibited. Yet this decree has proved to be ineffective, and wide-scale destruction of the species continues. There are however loopholes in the law – the government authorizes logging of Alerce that were damaged by fires or logging before 1973, and also allows logging of trees that died in “natural ways” and that [...]
It was in May 22, 1960 when the history of Valdivia was darkened by tragedy. A tremendous earthquake of 8,5 degrees affected the cities of Valdivia and Puerto Montt in Chile. The quake originated 180 feet below the bottom of the sea and 100 miles into the Pacific Ocean.There were not extremely large numbers of victims,for such an earthquake, because the opulation was alerted on that something was going to happen by previous shakes and underground noise.
However, 2300 people lost its life in the quake and in the tsunami that followed it. 80 feet high waves devastated the Chilean and Peruvian coasts and they propagated at more than 200 miles an hour to the coasts of Hawaii, Philippines, and Japan, destroying everything on its way and killing many people. In Valdivia, the stories of the earthquake are alive in people’s minds. Immediately after the quake and knowing what will came next, the people of the lowlands run to the hills for protection. But not all of them follow those security measures. Meanwhile the tide started to retreat into the ocean, leaving the rivers dry.
Afterwards the inevitable arrived, a huge 80 feet tidal wave devastated everything on its way,taking with it fishing boats and sinking large ships. The wave followed the river course and damaged the city’s industrial zone leaving ruins that are visible even today. Then the wave returned to the sea carrying back small boats with fishermen and whole houses with [...]
I personally find passage graves – caves – standing stones and everything else in that frame of things to be truly fascinating, Dunmore Caves in Ireland have become one of the top seven most sought after sights for architects over the last 5 years. Ireland embodies so many wonderful treasures within her, we owe it to our ancestors to celebrate and enjoy their treasures… Securing Our Past – Preserving Our Future – WAU Eire….
Dunmore Caves – Dearc Fearnas – Co. Kilkenny
Dunmore Cave is described in folklore as the mouth of a huge beast, with ten thousand teeth above his head and as many under his feet. The huge, imposing entrance, has been known for centuries, but it is only comparatively recently that it has been fully explored. Until the seventeenth century caves were regarded with dread and awe as being entrances to Hell. From the eighteenth century onwards a number of visitors, including scientists and historians, have written about the cave. Research on geological and historical aspects of the cave has been pursued making it one of the best documented cave sites in Europe.
Dunmore Cave- A Viking Massacre Site.
January 2000 saw the natural cave at Dunmore, Co. Kilkenny under the world spotlight as a hoard of 43 silver and bronze items which had been discovered late in 1999 was displayed to the public at the National Museum of Ireland for the first time. The hoard was dated by several coins minted in the North [...]
The Bialowieza Forest is the last “primaeval forest” within the European lowland – it is a scarce and precious type of forest;
· On the change of the 20th into the 21st century decisions have been made that will at least influence the natural future of the forest during the coming hundreds of years – and possibly determine her future;
· It is a virgin forest, but it is not unassailable. We are able to preserve it – but as easily we are able to hurt its deepest souls and impose her onto a number of coming human generations in an unnatural state of desintegration.
As noted before, the Bialowieza Forest has preserved in Poland (and in Belarus). By this I mean that the soil of the forest is original and pure and that the types of forests actually present are still partially (nearly) undisturbed. Also it means that all biodiversity is directly connected to conditions like our climate, water economy and the everlasting competition of species. The great variation in species is apparent simply when we take into account the naturally occuring species of mammals that are ever present in the forest.
The European Bison (Bison bonasus), the largest mammal on the continent of Europe, is living in the woods of Bialowieza in a number of 550 specimens. It is the biggest population of wild living European bisons and one of thee populations on world scale that meets requirements for a lasting and stable local existence of the [...]