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The Non-Sustainability of Monocultures. Vandana Shiva. Monocultures. Monocultures are neither tolerant of other systems, but are also not able to reproduce sustainably. Commercial forestry. Sustainability is a matter of supply to the market
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The Non-Sustainability of Monocultures Vandana Shiva
Monocultures • Monocultures are neither tolerant of other systems, but are also not able to reproduce sustainably
Commercial forestry • Sustainability is a matter of supply to the market • Sustained yield management works to “the best financial results, or the greatest volume, or the most suitable class of produce • Non-marketable components of the forest are then destroyed in the working process of commercial forestry • Uniformity in the forest works for markets and industry, but against nature
PICOP • Was a joint venture between International Paper and ASC in the Philippines • Their forestry division wasn’t profitable • Their plantations also failed • All because they were not sustainable
Selective logging • The process of not destroying a whole forest at once • Cut some trees, let the rest grow • Selective loggers damage more trees than they harvest • According to UNESCO, not many forests are rich enough for selective logging
Brazil • An example was given of Brazil • A forestry project was created in Brazil • Economics led people to think in new ways • The transformation of the forest led to more flooding • The people who lived in those regions became impoverished and moved to the slums in the cities
Eucalyptus • The greening of the forest with eucalyptus works against nature • Guzzles water and nutrients • Inhibits growth of other plants and is toxic to organisms responsible for building soil culture • People everywhere have resisted the planting of eucalyptus
Agriculture • The destruction of diversity in agriculture is also a source of non-sustainability • “miracle” seeds replaced traditional agriculture • These seeds became mechanisms for breeding new pests and new diseases • The only miracle about these seeds are the need for more pesticides • Sustainable agriculture is based on the recycling of soil nutrients
Green Revolution • Was meant to free the Indian farmer from natural constraints • Instead, crated less diversity and destabilized water and soil systems • Leading to the problem of possible desertification • Created the perception that soil fertility is produced in chemical factories • What is considered wasteful and unproductive by Green Revolution standards are coming to be seen as useful by ecological standards