{"id":19981,"date":"2022-05-09T06:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T04:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.gstic.org\/?post_type=story&p=19981"},"modified":"2022-05-10T15:14:10","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T13:14:10","slug":"the-natural-capital-of-the-amazonian-rainforest","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/the-natural-capital-of-the-amazonian-rainforest\/","title":{"rendered":"The natural capital of the Amazonian rainforest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Living roofs, green walls, urban gardens: our towns and cities are dominated by concrete, glass, and steel so we are compelled to invent ever-more imaginative ways to bring plants into our lives. Plants are beneficial for our physical and mental wellbeing, and for the future of the environment. We have been reliant on the extraordinary properties of plants throughout the millennia of human existence as they have provided us with crucial resources such as oxygen, water, food, and construction materials, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazonia and its Indigenous inhabitants provide a perfect example of how people can exploit plants sustainably. To provide shelter, for example, the Yanomami build large circular wooden dwellings, thatched with palm leaves, which house the entire community. A single large lowland roundhouse uses at least 52 plant species, including Geonoma<\/em> palm leaves for thatching and house posts made from Manilkara huberi<\/em> and Centrolobium paraense. <\/em>These are both known by the Yanomami to be the most resistant to rot and attacks by termites \u2013 and consequently valued for their durability in the timber trade. Traditionally, the Yanomami move on from the site after a few years to allow the forest to recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n