knowledge of the forest with all its parts: from the tiniest fungus,
to the movement and flow of water and large mammals. In recent years
many of us have lost our connection with, and knowledge of, the forest.
The health, condition, and management of a forest can have
significant impacts on the health of people. Forest cover and structure
profoundly affect the quality of the water and the species that live in
it; this affects our health. Employment opportunity affects our
well-being, and the management of forest resources affects those
opportunities. Certain management practices also threaten wild food and
medicinal herbs that are often abundant in forests. Herbicide and
insecticide applications and road construction will also affect our
health. We are experiencing changes in weather patterns that are
affected by global forest cover and use. There is no escaping it -- we
are still integrally connected with the trees and forests around us.
Health and Environment Issues
Relating to Forestry
Water and Soil Quality
Forests, riparian strips, wetlands, and cattail ponds are all
responsible for filt
ering,
cycling, and regulating water. Many studies show that water quality
diminishes as trees and natural features are removed or changed.
Practices associated with forestry, such as road-building, stream
crossing, nutrient leaching, soil erosion, and pesticide applications
all have negative effects on water quality. Good health is fundamentally
based on access to clean, unpolluted water that our natural areas
provide.
Food Security:
Wild Food, Medicinal Herbs, and
Keystone
Species
Diverse and healthy forests provide important opportunities to use
wild food and medicinal plants such as blue cohosh (a hormone
regulator), goldthread (for its anti-cancer properties), or greens,
mushrooms, nuts and fruit. Many of these species will not grow after the
forest is clearcut, or take years to re-establish themselves. Also,
forest productivity can be dependent on interactions we don't even know
about. Tree productivity, for example, is based on the relationship
between tree roots and soil fungi. Without its associated truffles and
mushrooms, a tree will grow at a much slower rate. Species such as
flying squirrels spread these fungal spores by eating truffles and
leaving pellets behind. Flying squirrels, however, do not thrive in
post-clearcut forests.
Employment
Opportunity
It has been firmly established that economic opportunity is a major
determinant of health. A resilient forest with a wide range of species
can translate directly into dollars from forest products and savings
from all the services a forest provides (e.g. ground water purification,
carbon storage, air purification, cooling and shade, house insulator,
and ecology teacher). Forests also provide opportunities for tourism,
recreation and spiritual pursuits. According to Environment Canada, they
support a multibillion-dollar recreation and tourism industry.
Toxic materials
The forest industry uses many toxic compounds and produces toxic
byproducts so that we can have white paper and building materials.
Pesticides (which includes herbicides, insecticides, and fumigants) are
used in seedling nurseries and cut over areas for re-planting
operations, and in forests for insect pest control. According to
Environment
Canada, the biggest known users of insecticides in Atlantic Canada are
the provincial governments of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland, which spray them from aircraft to combat the spruce
budworm and the hemlock looper. Diesel oil and gas are used by machinery
when trees are clearcut and transported to mills. At pulp mills,
chlorine is often used for processing and bleaching. Pulp mill effluent
often contains one of the most toxic sludges known because there are
dioxins and furans present. Dioxins and furans have been linked to
problems with endocrine and immune system disruption, and cancer.
Fortunately, some of the most potent pesticides are no longer used in
the region, but effects of past spraying operations are still with us. In
addition, commonly used pesticides that were thought to be very safe (such
as Glyphosate) are, upon further scrutiny, scheduled for bans in Europe
because of documented negative health effects. The question "is
glyphosate safe?" will produce widely different answers, depending on
who is doing the research.
Pesticides as a group have the potential to be a carcinogen, mutagen,
tetratogen, fetotoxin, immunotoxin, and/or cause nervous system and organ
damage. This is not an attractive list of health effects! It is also
important to take into consideration the effects of toxic chemicals on
children, who are smaller and whose immune systems are not as well
developed, making them more vulnerable to toxic substances.
Often there is uncertainty about the direct causal links between
toxic materials in the environment and human health effects because
health problems
- may be a result of multiple low levels of exposure;
- may occur after long latency periods;
- may be linked to the synergistic effect of several toxic materials
interacting.
Because of the many uncertainties associated with the use of
pesticides and other toxic substances, many citizens groups are
advocating for the implementation of the precautionary principle:
"When substantial evidence of any kind gives good reason to believe
that an activity, technology, or substance may be harmful, we should act
to prevent harm, even though knowledge is incomplete."
Climate, Weather, and Air Quality
Accelerated climate change from increased greenhouse gases is likely
to cause global temperature changes and increased fluctuations in
weather patterns over a time period ranging from decades to centuries.
It is affected by natural changes in the environment and human
activities such as burning fossil fuels and wood. Although deforestation
is not a direct cause or source of increased greenhouse gases, growing
trees and other plants in forests do help to buffer the effect of
climate change -- as long as they are living -- through their use of
carbon dioxide for growth. Possible health effects of climate change
include increases in chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases,
increases in insect-borne diseases caused by changes in precipitation
and temperature, and reduced quality and the quantity of drinking water.
When a forest ecosystem is severely disturbed and changed by
overharvesting, simplification, and vegetation or pest management, there
will be impacts on human health. Associated activities such as
road-building, truck traffic, and pulpwood processing will take their
tolls on the environment, and our health. Not all forestry practices are
harmful, however. It is possible to
generate a multitude of forest products over the long term without
severely disturbing the forest
ecosystem and all its important functions.
here
was a time when people were deeply connected with their natural
surroundings. They were completely dependent on the
