Deforestation in the Amazon

Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest

By Laura, Josie, Charlotte and Emily

Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest Environmentalists are blaming the Brazilian government as the cause of deforestation in the

Amazon, they say that it has limited protected areas and that nobody obeys the laws anyway.

They have worked out that the Amazon is slowly declining since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. England is 130,000 km2.

One and one-half acres of rainforest is lost every second, 20 football pitches every minute.

Much of the destruction has been in Mato Grosso state, the centre of soya farming in Brazil.

This area has a very high crime rate, the rate of crime is also hand in hand with the amount of deforestation in Brazil.

Showing that the government is not protecting the land as carefully they possibly could do.

Having said that, there are many more factors contributing to the mass deforestation that can be seen in the Amazon.

Deforestation There are many factors affecting why the rate of deforestation is increasing such as: - Infrastructure - Mining - Logging - Extracting oil - Slash and burn

- Cattle ranching - Crop farming - Soy production - Energy sources

Information from http://www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon

Deforestation We need to look after the Amazon because it provides us with carbon which supports life on Earth. It is also home to animals and people which we need to respect. We do not have the right to invade their homes. If we destroy the Amazon, we will reduce the amounts of carbon produced and will lose a part of the world that inhabits the Amazon.

Thousands of fish species, ten thousands of plant species, hundreds of reptiles and millions of people live in the Amazon. If we destroy their homes, we could endanger many plants and animals which may even become extinct.

Information from http://www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon

Illegal logging A 300 year old tree is not just a tree. It’s a habitat for hundreds of species. It’s a carbon dioxide absorber, and a manufacturer of oxygen.

It’s an energetic living enterprise, but one that takes just a few hours to chainsaw down, destined to be turned into planks for table tops, yet another 300 years to replace.

Today, 80% of the Amazon forest has been wiped out due to deforestation, an area twice the size of Germany. However, 80% of the logging taking place throughout the Amazon violates government control.

Why do the natives turn to illegal logging?

- the materials produced by one single tree can make roughly $125,000 - there is not legal, respectable jobs in the areas throughout and surrounding the Amazon - it is the only way to make a living and provide dinner on the table each night for the family - they claim that they are not destroying the rainforest as they plant new trees in place of the used ones

Commercial logging Commercial logging involves big companies cutting down huge quantities of the rainforest for sale as timber or pulp. The timber is used to build homes, furniture, etc and the pulp is used to make paper and paper products.

Much larger, more powerful vehicles are used resulting in devastating damages to flora and fauna. It is estimated that 7.5 million hectares of rainforest are being cut down each year - that is the same as 20 football pitches a minute.

Brazil once had the highest deforestation rate in the world and as of 2005 still has the largest area of forest removed annually. Since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed.

England is 130,000 km2 Despite reductions in the rate of deforestation in the last ten years, the Amazon Rainforest will be reduced by 40% by 2030 at the current rate. Bet ween May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometers of forest, an area larger than that of Greece.

One and one-half acres of rainforest are lost every second. It is estimated that 7.5 million hectares of rainforest are being cut down each year - that is the same as 20 football pitches every minute.

There were an estimated ten million Indians living in the Amazonian Rainforest five centuries ago. Today there are less than 200,000.

Commonly the method farmers use to destroy the vegetation in the way is called slash and burn, this is the process of cutting down the vegetation in a particular area, Slash-and-burn agriculture changes forest to farm land, but that obvious destruction is only the beginning.

Intentional fires get out of control and burn through the understory of nearby forests, killing, but not completely burning small trees, vines and shrubs.

The dead and dying trees collapse, spilling firewood and kindling to the ground and ripping a great tear in the tent of the forest overhead.

Cattle ranching is the number one cause of rainforest deforestation in the Amazon, it's responsible for 80% of the forests being cleared Today, Brazil is the world’s top exporter of beef, but demand within Brazil is also growing rapidly. This is seeing more and more forest burnt down to clear land for ranching.

Today, Brazil is the world’s top exporter of beef, but demand within Brazil is also growing rapidly.

Because of this more and more forest burnt down to clear land for ranching.

A large portion of deforestation is caused by the traditional practices of poor farmers who are encouraged to settle on forest lands by the current government land policies.

In Brazil, each farmer acquires the right to continue using a single piece of land simply by living on said plot of unclaimed public land, no matter how marginal it may be, and "using" it for at least one year and one day. After five years the farmer acquires ownership of said land and hence the right to sell the land at their will.

Soy production in Brazil is contributing to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, both directly through forest clearing for new soy farms (usually giant in size) and by displacing small farmers who then move into forest areas for subsistence agriculture. Further pressure comes from the development of infrastructure (like roads and ports) to support soy expansion.

HEP Schemes and infrastructure development (roads, houses) - Infrastructure development is the human production of structures such as buildings,

roads and houses. The structures allow human populations to increase and develop but they can potentially destroy the natural environment.

- Nowadays we are constantly searching for and extracting oils, minerals and metals from the Amazon rainforest. This means we have to build transport links and resources to help us extract them - infrastructure.

- Infrastructure is an increasing problem as we are polluting and increasing deforestation in the Amazon. Deforestation is being increased because we have to cut down trees in order to build infrastructure. Pollution is being increased from the chemicals and fuels being released into the atmosphere.

Information and photo from

http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/infrastructure

Š Edward Parker / WWF-Canon - Roads are a large part of infrastructure that are destroying the Amazon.

- Roads are essential to transport goods around. In the Amazon we need to build roads to be able to send the minerals around the world after mining.

- However, roads destroy habitats and the cars/lorries travelling along them create pollution and noise.

- It will not be easy to recover the land that is lost from the building of roads.

Information from

http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/infrastructure

HEP Schemes and infrastructure development (roads, houses) - When we build inside the Amazon rainforest, the animals, people, plants and environment face massive threats of people, vehicles and pollution.

- We are threatening the natural environment inside the Amazon rainforest for our own needs instead of caring for and preserving our world.

Information from http://www.rainforestconcern.org/rainforest_facts/ why_are_they_being_destroyed/

Š Sarah Black / WWF-Canon

Mineral Development - The Amazon rainforest contains many useful minerals such as copper, tin, nickel, gold and iron ore.

Mining for these minerals is becoming a massive problem.

- Mining affects the water, food and communities in the area.

- It is destroying the forest by creating pollution and deforestation.

- Mining causes deforestation as people have to destroy /cut down the forest to reach the minerals.

- Mining creates pollution from the machines and chemicals that are used to extract the minerals. The pollutants spread into the water table, killing many fish in the rivers and they also make the water harmful for humans. The pollutants diffuse into the air and some of them are dangerous to the nervous system.

- Rates of deforestation are rapidly increasing because we are extracting large quantities of oil and advancing within our knowledge of mining. We are destroying our rainforest too fast, it is down to us to stop.

Information from http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/problems/other_threats/ amazon_mining/