A gift to the Amur Tiger: ban on Korean Pine logging

2010 is the Year of the Tiger, and the Russian government has introduced a much needed ban on Korean Pine Logging to help preserve the Amur Tiger.

The ban on Korean Pine logging was included on the list of must-do measures in hopes to preserve the Amur Tiger, with less than 500 remaining, and it’s habitat.
An article from the World Wildlife Fund talks about the ban and how it will affect the tigers.

The ban is a huge step taken by the Russian government to preserve not only the Korean Pine but its inhabitants as well. Along with the endangered Amur Tiger, the pine provides for at least 50 species. It’s about time action is taken to preserve these animals.

Logging is a major industry across the globe. Unfortunately, it is responsible for destroying 160,000 square kilometers of forest each year and endangering many species of birds.

The rest of the world needs to realize what impact logging has on the environment. Not just the trees themselves, but the animals that those trees host. Every forest holds an animal, and that animal is needed for another’s survival.

Despite the destruction, Logging companies make everything better by planting trees behind their path of destruction, do they not? Let’s be serious. Can this really make it alright though? A tree takes many more years to grow then it does to tear one down. And what if the company decides to plant just one type of tree in an area that had variety? There is no way to make their actions better. Sure, animals can move, but where to? Eventually an entire forest is knocked down, and the inhabitants need to move to a completely new environment. How can people be sure that the animals will survive in that type of habitat?

The tigers are a perfect example. Korean Pine is a major factor for the wild boar, and the boar is one of the few prey species for the Amur Tigers.

The world needs to realize the effect that industries have on nature. In 2009 alone pine logging increased illegally, more than doubling the legal limits. These forests are in the worst shape they’ve been in for years, and as they fall, so will the animals.