CASE STUDY OF BRAZIL’S AMAZON

RAINFOREST!

Causes
Tropical forests are being destroyed at an ever-increasing rate. Estimates of the
extent and rate of loss vary, but it appears that nearly half of the world's tropical
forests already have been lost, and the remainder will all but disappear in the next
two to three decades. The loss is incalculable. These forests provide habitat for an
estimated half of the world's plant and animal species, provide water and fuel for
much of the world's population, and influence regional and global climate.
Commercial logging, clearance for agriculture, ranching, and fuel gathering are all
responsible for the destruction. Solutions include the development of alternative
fuelwood supplies through fuelwood plantations, the regulation of logging, and a
consensus as to the value of forest conservation over commercial development.

The tropical rainforest of the Amazon Basin is the largest area of tropical rainforest
in the world. If you look at the map to your right, you will realise that it is owned by
many countries. Different countries exploit the forest for different uses and we shall
go into these causes now.

Housing

One of the major purposes for the clearing of the forest is for housing. These
happens in countries where the population is growing rapidly, e.g. Colombia,
Ecuador and Peru. In addition, more houses are built in deforested areas to resettle
people from crowded and heavily urbanised and densely populated cities in Brazil
such as Rio De Janerio and Sao Paulo. The picture on your right is Manaus in Brazil
and it shows forest land being cleared for housing.

Agriculture

Extensive areas of the tropical rainforest have been cleared to grow pasture for
cattle rearing and to cultivate crops for subsistence and commercial agriculture.

Cattle ranching is an important source of farming activity in many Amazonian

countries like Brazil, Colombia and Peru just to name a few. The export to beef to
developed countries such as USA, Canada and Japan is extremely profitable and
brings in valuable revenue to poor South American countries. As a result, the
Amazonian governments encourage cattle ranching by offering financial aid and tax
rebates to cattle ranchers. This has resulted in extensive areas of the tropical
rainforest being burnt and cut down so that grass and pasture can be grown for
cattle.

In Colombia, Bolivia, Surinam and French Guiana, shifting cultivators clear the the
rainforest to grow crops like maize and potatoes to feed their families.

In Brazil, peasants are given plots of land to clear for subsistence farming. The
government hopes that they will grow food and become self sufficient.
The tropical rainforest has also been cleared in Ecuador, Peru and Brazil for
plantation agriculture. Crops such as sugar cane, bananas and coffee are grown for
sale.

Transport

The building of roads and the 3300 km east - west Transamazonia Highway have
resulted in the extensive deforestation of the Brazilian part of the Amazon
rainforest. The building of the highway has also made much of the interior of the
tropical rainforest of the Amazon Basin more accessible to people. As a result, more
areas of the rainforest have been cleared and developed for other land uses.

Natural Resources

The tropical rainforest of the Amazon Basin offers many valuable natural resources
such as timber, mineral ores and oil. Extensive deforestation has resulted when
these natural resources are extracted.

Timber

The rising demand in Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the USA and Canada for
hardwoods has contributed to the extensive damage. In addition, the use of modern,
efficient equipment such as chain-saws, bulldozers, trucks and tractors means that
large areas of rainforest can be cleared rapidly in a fairly short time.

Mineral Ores

There are large deposits of gold, bauxite,, iron ore, tin ore and diamonds in the
Amazon Basin. In order to extract these minerals, large areas of the forest have
been cleared. For instance, about one-sixth of Brazil's tropical rainforest (900,000
km²) has been leared to mine the high quality iron ore found there.

Oil

Oil is being extracted from the Ecuador's tropical rainforest. More then 10,000 km²
of the tropical rainforest have been cleared for this purpose as well as to build roads
and refiniries for processing the crude oil.

Consequences
Amazon Rainforest: Consequences

Extensive deforestation brings with it many problems both to the environment and
to the people living there. In this section, we shall examine some of these problems.

Loss of Soil Fertility

The presence of vegetation provides a protective cover over the soil. Through the
nutrient cycle, vegetation helps to maintain the soil fertility. When it rains, nutrients
enter the soil. Plant roots absorb the dissolved nutrients from the soil. When leaves
fall, small organisms such as worms and insects break down the leaves as they
decompose and this returns the nutrients to the soil. Hence, the fertility of the soil is
maintained.
However, with the clearance of the forest, there is a loss of a protective cover for
the soil. With deforestation, there will be a higher rate surface runoff and this results
in a higher rate of soil erosion and soil leaching. In soil erosion, the topsoil is being
removed or washed away by the higher surface runoff. Soil leaching, a process by
which nutrients are washed deeper into the soil, causes the top soil to become
increasing infertile over time, This, through soil erosion and soil leaching, the soil in
the deforested area gradually loses its fertility.

Increase in Water Pollution and Flooding

When the soil on on cleared land begins to erode, more soil is washed into the
rivers. The water quality is affected. Gradually the rivers sit up, increasing the
likelihood of flooding in the low-lying areas downstream.

Increase in greenhouse effect

As the tropical rainforest of the Amazon Basin covers a huge area, its large-scale
destruction is likely to have a global impact. As more trees are felled, there will be
fewer trees to remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the process of
photosynthesis. Thus, the global carbon dioxide level is expected to increase in the
greenhouse effect.

In addition, the burning of the forest contributes significant amounts of carbon

dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane to the atmosphere, thus worsening the
greenhouse effect.

Loss of Plant and Animal Species

We have already seen how rich the tropical rainforest is in terms of the variety of
plant life, especially when compared with the temperate forests. When trees are
felled in the tropical rainforest, many valuables plant spiecies are destroyed. An
example of a valuable plant species in the Amazon rainforest which faces extinction
is the Cinchona tree, from which quinine is extracted for the treatment of malaria.

Many animals die when the tropical rainforest is felled and burnt. Many others die
because their natural habitat in the tropical rainforest has been destroyed. Over
time, some animal species may become extinct.

Destruction of habitat and culture of the Amazonian Indians

The indigenous people of the Amazon Basin are the American Indians who have
lived there for thousands of years. Some Amazonian Indians are hunters and
gatherers while others are shifting cultivators. They rely on the forest for their food,
shelter and clothing. The extensive clearance of the tropical rainforest in the
Amazon Basin has resulted in the destruction of their habitat and their traditional
way of life or culture. When the tropical rainforest is cleared, they are forced to
move out of the forest and many find it difficult to adapt to life outside the
rainforest.

Strategies
Practise Selective Logging
In Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia and Guyana, the governments require loggers to
practise selective logging which involves articulate selection of which specific tree
species in logging activities. Only those trees which have been identified can be cut
down, and the rest are left to grow. By doing this, the extent of deforestation is
reduced.

Limiting Deforestation Activities

To discourage further deforestation, the governments also withdrew financial help to

some land clearance projects. The stop in funding led to the collapse in such
projects. For instance, to discourage clearing of land for new cattle ranches, the
Brazilian government in 1988 stopped giving financial help and tax incentives to
cattle ranchers. As a result, 30% less tropical rainforest was cleared between 1988
and 1990 in Brazil. Similarly, in Venezuela, the government withdrew the licenses of
miners who destroyed the habitat of the Amazonian Indians in an effort to protect
the inhabitants of the Amazon.

Setting Aside Protected Areas

The Amazonian governments have also set aside certain portions of the rainforest as
protected areas. These areas are left undisturbed to allow the natural vegetation to
grow over time. By doing this, the plant and animal species in the tropical rainforest
are protected. In Venezuela, 60% of tropical rainforest has been set aside as
protected areas.

Setting Aside Tribal Land Reserves

Some parts of the forest are set aside as tribal land reserves for the Amazonian
Indians to protect their culture and habitat On such tribal land reserves, only the
native Amazonian Indians can clear the forest and use the land to build houses and
grow crops they need to survive on. They are not allowed to sell or exchange the
land with anyone. This means that loggers and commercial farmers and investors
are kept out of the areas where the Amazonian Indians live. In Colombia, nearly 200
000 Km² of the tropical rainforest has been set aside for the Amazonian Indians as
tribal land reserves.