Asian Elephants inhabit various habitats ranging from India and Nepal to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and Malaysia.
They are smaller than their African counterparts, standing at 9 feet and weighing 8,800 pounds on average. Their heads have two humps and small, rounded ears.
Only male Asian elephants have long tusks, while females have small ones called tushes. However, some may never grow tusks, depending on their genetic makeup. These megaherbivores consume up to 330 pounds of vegetation daily, including grass, leaves, shoots, barks, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest Asian elephant species. They can grow up to 11.5 feet tall and up to 12,100 pounds. They have a darker skin tone and unique patches of depigmentation on their ears, face, trunk, and belly.
This elephant inhabits the dry zones of Sri Lanka and feeds on grasses, leaves, stems, and bark, consuming up to 150 kg of food daily. They are social animals whose herds typically consist of 12-20 individuals, led by the oldest female.
Elephants hold centuries-long significance in Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil cultures, featuring prominently in heraldic symbols, coats of arms, and flags. Integral to religious processions, Buddhist and Hindu temples have often kept their own elephants, indicating a deep-rooted human-elephant co-existence.
Unfortunately, Sri Lankan elephants face threats from human encroachment2, land mines, and occasional ivory poaching. With high elephant mortality rates, an annual average of 370 deaths were recorded in recent years.
Indian elephants can grow up to 9.8 feet and weigh 11,000 pounds. They are darker than the previous subspecies, with some lighter on their skin.
The Indian elephant holds significant symbolic stature throughout Asia, particularly in India, Thailand, and Laos. Revered in various religious traditions, they're often seen as deities symbolizing strength and wisdom. They serve as national animals in Thailand and Laos and as a national heritage animal in India.
The Sumatran Elephant lives in the lush rainforests of Sumatra. They can reach up to 10.5 feet and 8,800 pounds. Their skin is lighter than the two previous subspecies and has the least depigmentation.
Borneo Pygmy Elephants are the smallest subspecies of Asian elephants, standing up to 9.8 feet. They live in Southeast Asia's rainforests, particularly on Borneo Island. These elephants have rounder faces, oversized ears, and a tail that often brush the forest floor.
Imagining a situation where cutting down trees could be deemed sustainable may be difficult. Leaving forests untouched would seem more acceptable, but in the face of human dependency on forest resources, sustainable forestry is the best course of action.
Sustainable forestry is all about balancing our needs and the well-being of forest ecosystems. The forest management method seeks to mimic how natural forests operate.
Wild forests are a hotbed of eco-diversity and great carbon sinks. They often have economic and cultural significance to local communities. Sustainable forestry aims to cultivate forests that can provide the same social and environmental benefits without giving up on the economic benefits.
Simply defined, sustainable forestry is cultivating trees for timber while protecting the surrounding biological and social ecosystem.
It's important to note that no universal sustainable forestry management system exists. That's because forest ecosystems and their social environment differ from place to place.
The act of harvesting wood goes back approximately 1,000,000 years, when human ancestors used wood ash to make fire.
Since then, humans have grown more and more dependent on forest resources. Over the years, it became clear that rules had to be put in place to meet the need for forest products in the long term.
The earliest trace of sustainable forest management comes from 16th-century Germany. Then, forest properties were divided into sections to ensure concurrent harvesting and regeneration.
Modern forest management is deeply intertwined with natural resource management. Many forest managers understand the need to conserve forest trees to ensure continuous supply. Despite good intentions, exploitative practices persist.
Illegal logging, clear-cutting, and monoculture plantations are some of the unsustainable practices we see in the industry today. When forests are managed unsustainably, many unnecessary challenges arise for humans and animals now and in the future.
Forests mitigate climate change, capturing tons of carbon emissions in tree growth. Many climate researchers have advised that we need more trees to reduce greenhouse gases significantly2.
Healthy forests provide ecological services like air purification, water filtering, climate modulation, and flood and erosion control. They also produce better economic yield.
Wood is often an acceptable alternative to highly polluting materials like iron ore and cement. The material is renewable, recyclable, and energy efficient. It also allows for faster and cheaper construction.
The global forestry sector is valued at over 1.5 trillion USD. Wood products are needed across industries like fashion, digital tech, medicine, etc. The sector employs over 33 million people.
What makes sustainable forestry different from conventional forestry? Well, sustainable forestry techniques, regulations, and laws together form a flexible code of conduct that sustainable timber companies follow.
The manner of harvesting trees is an essential aspect of sustainable forestry. The conventional harvest practice is to clear-cut a large expanse of land, rooting up every vegetation in the site.
Often, rural communities near forests rely on them for income, fuel, fruits, nuts, oils, herbs, and medicinal plants. Therefore, a good forest management system must consider the well-being of local people.
Most people only know of two types of potato- white and sweet potato. However, there’s one more type of potato. Purple potatoes are uncommon, but they pack a load of nutrients. Purple potatoes are a member of the Solanum tuberosum family.
They are native to the Andes mountain region in South America. Purple sweet potatoes have the pigment because of a class of flavonoids known as anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are also responsible for blueberries’ color.
Although it is difficult to find purple sweet potatoes in the market, they are worth the extra search because they contain nutrients. It is rich in vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin B6. These nutrients are great because they boost the body’s health.
For instance, B vitamins support the brain, emotional health, and immune system. Potassium synthesizes protein and helps your muscles and nerves function properly. A purple potato contains three times more oxidants than yellow or white potatoes2.
Can you cook it just like the other potato types? Yes, you can! It is just as versatile. You can bake it, roast it, and boil it.
A purple carrot is particularly rich in antioxidants that fight inflammation and have the same nutrient value as an orange carrot. History shows the first usage of purple carrots dates back to the 10th century in the Iranian Plateau and Persian Empire.
Like an orange carrot, it contains B vitamins, vitamins C and A, fiber, manganese, and potassium. It also has antioxidants that protect your body from oxidative stress, an imbalance between reactive molecules and antioxidants. These antioxidants include chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and anthocyanins.
Purple cabbage is often known as red cabbage. The vegetable is part of the Brassica genus of plants. Red cabbage has the same taste profile as green cabbage, but red cabbage has a more prominent nutrient profile.
Like other purple vegetables, anthocyanins are responsible for the cabbage’s purple color. It has high vitamin C and low-calorie content. It contains small amounts of iron, calcium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium.
Research shows that red cabbage has 4.5 times higher antioxidant content than its green counterpart. It contains kaempferol, carotenoids, and flavonoids.
This purple vegetable is also a good source of a sulfur-rich compound known as sulforaphane. It forms when raw cabbage is cut or crushed. Purple cabbages can improve your heart health because they contain 36 types of anthocyanins.
Purple asparagus has an abundance of fiber, potassium, and vitamin B6. It has a sweeter flavor than its counterpart, green asparagus. There is little difference between both veggies. A serving of 90-gram asparagus provides over one-third of the folate your body needs.
The B vitamins prevent anemia and promote a healthy heart. It contains thiamin and riboflavin, two compounds necessary for growth and development. Overall, asparagus is an excellent addition to meals because it promotes good health.
