Butterflies Give Tanzanian Farmers Alternative To Deforestat

[wollastoni]

Interesting article : Butterflies Give Tanzanian Farmers Alternative To Deforestation

If locals cannot live from a sustainable exploitation of the forest, they will cut and sell it.

To protect our forests, insect trade should/must be encouraged by authorities.

[timmsyrj]

For the general public to know that their government would back large scale insect killing for art / collectors would be a huge vote loser, however keeping the voters in the dark about habitat loss for bio fuels etc wins votes. Live pupae are quite readily available already in more than enough numbers for butterfly houses etc, Stratford butterflies always has loads of surplus to sell off each week.

With the closure of I.F.T.A all those that ranched there, whole villages in some cases, have surely reverted back to the old slash and burn farming with no outlet for their ranching efforts, those of us on these forums know what needs doing but it goes against all the environment and wildlife pledges that won the votes.


Rich

[nomad]

It is such a shame what happened to IFTA, especially for all the butterfly farmers who protected the forest to make a living.    

[timmsyrj]

Jan 8, 2016 18:19:46 GMT nomad said:

It is such a shame what happened to IFTA, especially for all the butterfly farmers who protected the forest to make a living.    

It could also have had an effect on the butterfly populations in the areas around the villages even without reverting back to farming, the villagers ranched the larval foodplant in higher densities than normally found which increases the population to a harvestable level, without the villagers growing the larval foodplants and growing more to replenish the wild plants the population could have crashed, running out of foodplant before the larvae pupate.
man made clearings, cut to encourage the butterflies to come to flowering shrubs and larval foodplants would quickly re grow and be reclaimed by the forest unless they keep managing them, just as with our pearl bordered fritillary (B.euphrosyne) in a well maintained woodland clearing they would reach huge populations for a couple of years the crash, but keep the shrubs coppiced and the colonies will flourish for many years.
ranching takes years to set up, but not long to finish off.
I hope it continues and others take it up, insects are the most renewable resource anywhere, some having several generations a year, you only have to understand there needs, improve the environment to suite them and they will increase there numbers to a harvestable level all by themselves.

rich