The moriche palm, also known as the “tree of life.” Photo by Linton Arneaud, used with permission. This article was originally published on Cari-Bois News. An edited version is republished here as part of a content-sharing agreement with Global Voices. The majestic Mauritia flexuosa, commonly called the moriche palm, was also dubbed the “tree of life” by the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt at the beginning of the 1800s, thanks to the role it played ecologically, as a nest site for birds and a food source for both animals and humans; and socio-economically, as a source of raw materials. Centuries later, the moriche palm still grows in several South American countries, including Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil, as well as—in somewhat of a restricted range—on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, which once formed part of the South American continent. Its local populations, however, are becoming increasingly vulnerable because of unregulated human impact. A well-distributed species throughout the Amazon and Orinoco Basins, the palm is thought to have been brought by early civilisations from the Amazon to Trinidad, which formed the northern limit of its range. Today, naturally occurring moriche palm populations exist in only six locations in Trinidad. They are a keystone species in the Aripo Savanna and Nariva Swamp environmentally sensitive areas where they provide important ecosystem services. Since these locations have densities of adult trees higher than 1,000 per square kilometre, the ecosystems have evolved to depend on them. The palm is also found in the Arena and Valencia Forest Reserves, and the Erin Reserve and Los Blanquizales Lagoon along the island's south coast. The lagoon's population has fewer than 100 trees per km, while the densities of all the other populations are fewer than 50 per km. Because the country's economy is still heavily reliant on the energy industry, as well as the fact that its main moriche palm populations exist only in environmentally sensitive areas, the species is not cultivated for economic purposes in Trinidad. However, palms are believed to have been utilised by early human civilisations. As fire became integral to human evolution and existence, the moriche palm, believed to be pyrophilous in nature, made the species even more compatible with human settlements. Some societies still depend on these palms for their survival today. In Peru, for instance, moriche palm ecosystems or “Aguajals” as they are called locally, comprise 1 per cent (7,000 km) of the Amazonian valley forest and contribute millions of United States dollars to the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). Products made from the palms include frozen sweets, wines, oils, crafts, jewellery, footwear and toys, as well as sunscreen, deodorant and pharmaceutical items. The Moriche Palm Diet concept, developed in Brazil, which claims to “accentuate the shape of a woman's figure naturally,” has increased commercial demand for the vitamin-rich fruit. Fallen fruit from the moriche palm. Photo by Linton Arneaud, used with permission. Humans, however, are not the only ones dependent on the palm. In Trinidad, local indicator bird species such as the fork-tailed palm swift, moriche oriole, sulphury flycatcher, and red-bellied macaw depend extensively on moriche palms to provide both food and habitat for their survival. In this way, the existence of Trinidad's moriche palms is directly related to the richness and diversity of the country's bird species. On the ground, the red-rumped agouti hoards the moriche's fallen fruit, retrieving them during food-shortage periods. The scaly, dark red fruit is a rich source of nutrients, fats and polysaccharides, and helps ensure the survival of the agouti population during times of famine. Moriche palms felled in Trinidad's Aripo Savannas and Arena Reserve for the purpose of poaching red-bellied macaw chicks. Photo by Linton Arneaud, used with permission. During my surveys throughout the island, I have recorded several threats to the palms, squatting and land clearance being the most serious. Of pressing concern is that the swamp and marsh forests containing moriche palms in the Aripo Savannas, Valencia Reserve and Los Blanquizales Lagoon are being cleared to build shanty houses and to acquire land. Moriche palms are also being destroyed as a result of slash and burn farming. In the Los Blanquizales Lagoon and Valencia Reserve, for instance, palms are being cut down to propagate short-term crops like dasheen, eddoes, pumpkin, corn, cucumber and pigeon peas. Poachers for the illegal pet trade cut down dead palms in the Aripo Savannas and the Arena Reserve to acquire red-bellied macaw chicks, destroying valuable nest sites and other palms in the process.