Deforestation Causes of Large scale Deforestation Population Increase Brazil is one of the most populous countries in the world

the world a population of 184 million people in 2005 More than half of the population is under 29 years old population growth rate was high even though population growth rate has started to decrease due to economic modernisation and urbanisation Its large population continues to place tremendous pressure on forested land People clear and burn the rainforest to acquire land for building houses and for agriculture. government is also clearing the forests on a massive scale to develop transport and industrial infrastructure to improve the standard of living and to provide jobs more than 5.2% of the Amazon rainforest were cleared for settlements ,farms and industries

Settlements one of the main reasons for the clearance of the Amazon rainforest is to build settlements for the large population in Brazil government has been trying to resettle people from densely populated cities such as Sao Paulo to less densely populated parts of the country Sao Paolo has a population of more than 15million and is increasing at a rate of 150 000 a year, because partly of internal migration As part of its resettlement effort, the government cleared part of the Amazon rainforest and relocated each family with a piece of land (1sq km) Families were offered subsidies and loans to convert the cleared land into farmland

Rapid Urbanisation In many developing countries, rapid urbanization has brought about large-scale deforestation Forested land is cleared for the building of new housing estates, town centres, hospitals, schools, transportation and many other facilities

Land Transport Systems Although road construction to increase accessibility may not clear a significant area of the forest, It does lead to fragmentation of the forest It prevents the seamless integration of the forest and divides the forest into semi-independent sections

5100km long Transamazonian Highway in Brazil cuts across the Amazon rainforest. A 900km railway has also been constructed to link the port of Sao Luis to Carajas in the interior development of these land transport systems ultimately leads to the clearance of more natural vegetation for the sake of giving people greater accessibility

Agriculture Agriculture is a very important activity in Brazil Its agriculture sector contributes about 10 per cent to the country's income and employs about a quarter of the population 3 main types of farming systems in Brazil- shifting cultivation, subsistence farming and commercial farming

Shifting cultivation Tribal farmers like the Yanomamo cut down small sections of the forest and burn the trees ashes from the burnt wood re natural fertilisers which enrich the poor tropical soils. enables the farmers to have a good harvest in absence of trees, heavy rain will wash away the nutrients from the soil force the small tribal groups to move or shift to other locations in the forest where they repeat the same process Shifting cultivation practiced on a small scale by tribal farmers, does not pose a major threat to the forest Subsistence farming and commercial farming incur more severe consequences

Subsistence farming A significant proportion of Brazilian farmers are subsistence farmers who grow crops mainly for their own consumption very few of them have their own land Brazilian government has given plots of land beside the main roads that run through the Amazon rainforest to these landless farmers government cleared and granted land in the Amazon rainforest to roughly 150 000 families these farmers are poor and they have no money to buy fertilisers and pesticides to improve and increase their crop production they simply clear and burn the vegetation to plant crops such as bananas and maize after 3 to 4 years, when the productivity of the soil declines the farmers will go deeper into the forest to clear new areas for cultivation the collective practice of these farmers brings about large scale damage to vegetation and land in the Amazon rainforest

Commercial Farming Commercial farming in Brazil, mainly in the form of extensive cattle ranching, is operated by large multinational corporations they rear cattle and sell the beef to developed countries most of the meat is used by commercial hamburger outlets about 3/4 of Europe's processed meat was imported from Brazil this form of farming is the most destructive to the Amazon rainforest because large areas of the forest have to be completely cleared, burnt and replaced with grass for cattle grazing cattle ranching alone accounts for 80 per cent of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest Commercial crops such as coffee, sugar cane and soy beans are also grown on land once occupied by the rainforest these commercial crops are grown on plantations that could occupy as much as 1000 ha of land the area for cultivating soy beans in Brazil almost doubled in order to meet the high demand for this crop

Forest fires Fires burn up thousands of square kilometres of the Amazon forest every year. Fires can be started by natural or human causes, or a combination of both Dry weather conditions can cause widespread uncontrollable forest fires This situation is worsened when forested land is also burnt to create agricultural land

Economic Development and Debt Repayment Many less developed country such as Brazil aspire to be developed In order for that to come true, the Brazilian government need to reduce the country's national debt Brazil is one of the world's largest debtors, owing more than $100 billion to foreign banks the country's natural resources have to be exploited to pay for development and to reduce the national debt

Commercial logging Commercial logging is another cause for the rapid disappearance of the Amazon rainforest World demand for tropical hardwoods is a US$8 billion a year industry the demand is increasing every year Timber is a valuable resource because it can be used in a variety of ways such as in the construction of houses the making of furniture and the manufacture of paper

Valuable hardwoods, such as Mahogany are an important source of income for logging companies Extensive deforestation takes place as logging companies are eager to sell the timber to the more developed countries where there is a high demand for it The Brazilian government has made some attempts to protect and conserve the rainforest For example, logging which can only be carried out in assigned areas is regulated by strict licensing actions against illegal logging and attempts at reforestation are difficult to enforce as the extent of rainforest is tremendous

Mining The Amazon rainforest occupies land that is rich in many minerals such as iron ore, gold and fossil fuels Large areas of the forest have been cleared by multinational corporations to extract these minerals and fossil fuels More than 900000sq ha of the forest in Brazil has been cleared to mine iron ore and tin also sue to the fact that the world's largest deposit of premium grade iron ore is found in Carajas, Another major contributor to the clearing of the Amazon rainforest areas is the growing demand or oil which has led to the colonisation of areas of the Amazon rainforest that were previously inaccessible For example, the drilling of oil has been carried out in inland forested areas such as those near Manaus Over the years, the exploitation of oil has enabled Manaus to expand and become a city of industrial centre

Hydroelectricity Water is an important and renewable source of clean and cheap energy When it is stored behind a dam, and released into a controlled manner it can be used to generate a constant supply of energy that is crucial for the running of various industries the construction of large dams and reservoirs has caused large areas of the Amazon rainforest to be flooded and destroyed Despite attempts to minimise the environmental impact on the forest and its flora and fauna, 700 sq km of rainforest were lost

Consequences of Deforestation Global Warming During photosynthesis, plants absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen Plants play an essential role in supporting life since all living things need oxygen to survive

As the Amazon rainforest helps significantly to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere the removal of trees can affect the atmospheric conditions Deforestation result in an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as less is absorbed by the plants Hence, more heat may be trapped in the atmosphere which will lead to global warming the destruction of tropical rainforests is detrimental to the survival of all living things on earth

Nutrient cycle and soil deterioration soil in tropical regions are not fertile due to soil leaching soil leaching is where soil nutrients are dissolved and removed from the soil by water flowing downwards trees help to improve soil fertility by absorbing nutrients into the roots before these nutrients can be washed or leached away when trees die, they decompose quickly under hot and humid conditions and the nutrients they have absorbed are released back into the soil this is known as the nutrient cycle Deforestation takes away this storage mechanism As a result, soil fertility will be reduced deforestation increases soil erosion because the topsoil is no longer protected by the leaves and branches that intercept the rainfall and the tree roots which normally hold the soil in place have been removed When rain falls, the topsoil will be washed away and soil fertility will diminish

Floods and water quality When land is cleared by deforestation, floods in the lowland areas may occur more frequently When trees are cut down, there will be an increase in surface runoff when it rains because there are no trees to intercept the rainfall this increase in surface runoff may exceed the carrying capacity of the river and result in floods in the low-lying areas Furthermore, because of the lack of tree roots to hold the soil together, the topsoil is washed into the rivers and is deposited on the riverbed This gradually raises the height of the riverbed and increases the likelihood of flooding in the low lying areas around the river it is believed that floods in the low-lying areas in Brazil has become more frequent and more severe in recent years not just because of heavy rainfall but also because of rapid deforestation in the mountainous areas

Moreover, the decomposition of organic debris that used to collect on the forest floor into the river could affect the quality of the water increase the acidity of the water and change the living environment for aquatic life As a result, the plants and animals that are unable to adapt to the new environment may die

Air pollution Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines were affected badly by the smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan in 1997 Brazil was also affected by the forest fires in the Amazon rainforest. Satellite images picked up about 25 000 cases of forest fire, with smoke clouds bigger and thicker than those in SEA Millions of square kilometres of rainforest were affected The fires destroyed large areas of the rainforest and killed much wildlife The shroud of haze produced by the fires also caused airport closures and affected the health of many people, especially those prone to respiratory illnesses

Loss of Biodiversity Deforestation leads to the extinction of flora and fauna, many of which may not have been discovered and studied The Amazon rainforest contains the largest collection of plants and animals It is estimated that one hectare of forested land contains more than 2000 species of plants These contribute greatly to the genetic diversity of the forests their destruction and eventual extinction will cause a reduction in biodiversity and lessen the chances of survival of other living organisms For example, many highly effective medicinal drugs such as quinine are produced from plants found only in tropical rainforests Many of the undiscovered flora may contain chemicals that can be used as medicine, cosmetics and food The chances of discovering them diminish as more and more of the rainforest is being cleared

Impact on Inhabitants The population of the native Brazilians has been greatly reduced from more than one million at the time of arrival of the Portuguese in the 1550s to the present figure of 700 000. Deforestation disrupts their culture and traditional way of life Many of them, like the Kayapo can no longer survive by living in the rainforest Some of the tribal groups have been resettled on reserved land However, some of the younger members have chosen to migrate to the cities

Eventually, thousands of years of culture, knowledge and a way of life will be lost Sustainable Management of the Amazon Rainforest

Selective logging Clear cutting, which is the total removal of all trees in an area, causes widespread destruction of the rainforest ecosystem Instead of clear cutting, selective logging can be enforced This allows the cutting of only selected trees that have met certain criteria For example, only trees that have reached a certain minimum circumference can be cut, and only a certain number of trees per hectare of forest can be harvested The Brazilian government require loggers to practice selective logging These loggers can only cut down specific species of trees As a result, the pace of deforestation has been reduced.

Establishment of Laws and Policies In order to further limit the number of trees being cut down, some governments have withdrawn the financial help given to some land clearance projects In 1988, the Brazilian government withdrew the financial support and tax incentives given to cattle ranchers in order to limit the clearing of the forest for new cattle ranches it also cancelled 70 per cent of logging permits and established measures against illegal logging For example, enforcement agents have been trained to patrol the forest and heavy fines are imposed on illegal loggers However, illegal logging remains a problem, accounting for 80 per cent of logging activities because of weak enforcement and corruption

Afforestation Unlike reforestation where forests are planted over areas that have been logged, afforestation is the planting of trees in areas which were previously bare or were used for other land uses Agro- forestry is an example of afforestation where trees are grown and nurtured on farms these trees eventually provide not only wood for charcoal but also shade and food for the farmers In 2005, a project to grow popular trees like the Brazilian cedar and mahogany was implemented by a private organisation This project involves almost 10 000 ha of land which has been turned into a massive tree farm

Conservation

Setting aside portions of the rainforest as conservation areas will ensure that man plants and species will be left undisturbed and protected. Only 4 per cent of the Amazon rainforest is protected as environmental reserves. the government plans to increase the amount of rpotected environmental reserves by 3 times 20 per cent of Amazon rainforest has been set aside as tribal reserves It allows the Amazonian indians living in Brazil to protect their culture and their habitat In these tribal reserves, the Amazonian indians are the only ones allowed to clear the forest to build homes and grow crops they are not allowed to sell the land to anyone this ensures that commercial logging companies, commercial farmers, and other investors are prevented from exploiting the rainforest for their own profits