Blue Planet Prize Story

Prof. Lambin visited the area to conduct interviews with individual residents about their thinking. and wrote their comments on the satellite images like placing pins on a map. Gathering such data would clarify differences in the ways the people living in green and pink areas think, and it would help to explain the types of human activity that led to the destruction of the forests.
Understanding how people think requires face-to-face interviews. Accumulating such direct information will help us understand what is actually happening in the area.

Prof. Lambin came to think that gathering the wisdom of people who are conducting similar studies around the world would provide greater detail and clarity.
Then in 1999, Prof. Lambin established a network of researchers around the world called the Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (LUCC) Project. He chaired the LUCC for seven years.

Different researchers conduct a wide range of research in different countries. For example, some conduct research on deforestation in Indonesia, and others conduct such research in Brazil and Guatemala. Because they are in different locations, the causes of deforestation may differ. However, there may be commonalities as well. Comparison allowed researchers to elevate their research on land use to a global scale.

Does forest conservation in our county cause deforestation in other countries?

As he was investigating deforestation in different countries, Prof. Lambin noticed something surprising.
In some developing countries in Asia and South and Central America, forests that had been decreasing started increasing. That is a good thing, isn't it?
Prof. Lambin investigated the imports, exports and the economies of these countries to see if he could determine why, and he found that wood imports had increased in the countries whose forests had started increasing. This meant that those countries had shifted from using their own wood to wood produced in other countries.

Further research uncovered the fact that some of the wood being imported from other countries had been illegally cut down. Illegal logging includes the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits, the cutting down of protected species, or extraction from protected areas, all leading directly to deforestation.
Supposing that people cut too many trees down and decrease forest, then, to prevent deforestation, excessive logging is discouraged through fines and other punishment. Doing this, however, increases the price of lumber due to decreased logging in the country. This leads to the import of cheap wood from other countries. As a result, illegal logging increases as a whole and leads to deforestation in those countries. This is how promoting forest conservation in one country caused deforestation in other countries.

Prof. Lambin realized from this that forest conservation cannot be promoted in only one country. He recognized the need for forest conservation in all countries that import and export wood. If we only focus on our own land and environment, we worsen the global environment. To address this issue, we must establish relationships among those engaged in the production, sale and purchase of lumber, and those who buy and use products made from wood so that those who follow the rules benefit while those who do not follow the rules are prohibited from the sale and purchase of lumber.
According to Prof. Lambin, because global trade is essential for a healthy global economy, we need to think about ways of improving relationships among countries. He believed if all countries cared for forests in other countries as they did their own, it would lead to forest conservation on a global scale and promote sustainable land use.

Expanding the scale of environmental protection

Most of such notebooks as well as agricultural products and other goods are traded internationally in a distribution process, including procurement of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, sales, and consumption.

Prof. Lambin believes we should choose sustainable supply chains that are environmentally friendly throughout the process of distribution described above. We must not destroy forests through illegal logging or contaminate oceans and rivers with industrial wastewater. We must also stop emitting large amounts of CO₂ while shipping products by land and sea. This should be followed by all the countries in the distribution chain. Who would be the key to promoting land use governance?

It is of course important to have governments in each country decide policies regarding environmental protection and trade; however, Prof. Lambin thinks the role of the private companies that actually manufacture, sell and purchase products is extremely important. In particular, major companies involved in international transactions influence every aspect of product distribution.
One effective means of achieving these goals is through forest certification programs. In these programs, each private company proves its support for sustainable forest management through all processes of product manufacture, including procurement of raw materials, manufacture, and transportation. Certified products are authorized to carry the eco label. Customers selecting products with this eco label contribute to environmental protection.

If all companies join the program, it will be very effective. Although the number of participating companies, including major companies, has been increasing, the participation rate remains between 2 and 20%. Prof. Lambin considers it necessary to expand participation to 80% to stop environmental destruction and realize a sustainable world. Examining ways to expand participation has become Prof. Lambin's lifework.
He argues that there are three necessary steps. First, governments must reform policies. Next, companies, especially major companies, must accept those reforms. Lastly, society makes such a cycle natural. Companies implementing better policies will be accepted by society and thrive while companies that do not implement better policies will not survive. If we can make such a society, the world will significantly change.

4. Nature and happiness