Forests, Nicaragua, and Hurricane Felix

This article from last week stresses the importance of environmental protection. I was certain that when Hurricane Felix was bearing down on Nicaragua as a category 5 hurricane, we would be looking at massive deaths, not so much from the hurricane itself, but from the mudslides that seemed would follow (particularly given how Hurricane Mitch turned out a few years ago). Although 65 people (as of now – see ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com) have died, the death toll is far less than what many (including myself feared).

Apparently, the reason for this relatively low number of deaths among the Miskitos and others in Nicaragua is simple: forests. The forests also apparently helped to slow down and reduce the hurricane’s strength by offering a natural “barrier” against which the hurricane was acting (the simple rule of physics about action/reaction). Not just that, either – thanks to the forests, the ground remained rooted, and as any elementary schoolchild can tell you, plants prevent erosion. That’s apparently exactly what happened this time in Nicaragua.

All of this just goes to show one more way in which protecting forests will save lives in the future. Erik is usually the one who points this out, but it can never be re-stated enough – we must work hard to protect the forests around the world. The benefits will go beyond the simple (though by no means trivial) issue of oxygen/carbon dioxide cycles and greenhouse effects. Forests (and other environmental “resources”) save more lives than we care to acknowledge, and the case of Hurricane Felix is just one more example of that.