Chapter 9 Abudul Gaku

Chapter 9 takes place in Brazil in an area known as Reserve 1202. In Reserve 1202 there are 25 acres of forest that is untouched. It is one of many reserves that are controlled by the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). BDFFP was founded by Tom Lovejoy. His intention was to protect areas from being cut down by farmers and ranchers. To implement this, he proposed a plan to the Brazilian government. After having been given grants from the government, he studies the preserves and in his research he compares the reserves to the main forest. Out of the 50 million square miles of inhabitable land on the Earth, humans have developed 25 million square miles. Kolbert meets an ornithologist named Mario Cohn-Haft and they listen to bird calls in the night. There has been a decline in the bird species and biodiversity in Reserve 1202. This is because there isn't enough space for species to develop. From reading this chapter I wondered if reserves are actually helping the species. There isn't enough space for them to develop, but they are also disappearing from the main forest as well. Is there a true way to save these species? Or do we have to watch them slowly disappear?