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One of the most important causations of deforestation is the growing agricultural commodities such as soya, which is used mainly to feed animals. Although major fast food companies such as [[McDonald's]] have denied of feeding its chickens with soya from the Amazon rainforest that are supplied by agricultural giant [[Cargill]]; however, not only did evidences prove this to be true, but also pointed out the soya farmers were linked to the use of slave labors, illegal land grabbing and massive deforestation. McDonald's and its suppliers should be responsible for the 70,000km² of the Amazon's deforestation in the last three years. Greenpeace have demanded fast food companies to eliminate soya trade or any meat products that are associated with the Amazon rainforest.<ref>Greenpeace. 2006. We're trashin' it: how McDonald's is eating up the Amazon. Amsterdam: Greenpeace</ref>
One of the most important causations of deforestation is the growing agricultural commodities such as soya, which is used mainly to feed animals. Although major fast food companies such as McDonald's have denied of feeding its chickens with soya from the Amazon rainforest that are supplied by agricultural giant Cargill; however, not only did evidences prove this to be true, but also pointed out the soya farmers were linked to the use of slave labors, illegal land grabbing and massive deforestation. McDonald's and its suppliers should be responsible for the 70,000km² of the Amazon's deforestation in the last three years. Greenpeace have demanded fast food companies to eliminate soya trade or any meat products that are associated with the Amazon rainforest.<ref>Greenpeace. 2006. We're trashin' it: how McDonald's is eating up the Amazon. Amsterdam: Greenpeace</ref>


==Future==
==Future==

Revision as of 22:17, 2 December 2009

The Amazon River flowing through the rainforest

The main sources of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest are human settlement and development of the land.[1] Between 1991 and 2000, the total area of forest lost in the Amazon Rainforest rose from 415,000 to 587,000 km², an area more than six times the size of Portugal, with most of the lost forest becoming pasture for cattle.[2] In February, 2008, the Brazilian government announced that the rate at which the Amazon rainforest is being cut down has increased significantly over the past few months. During the last five months of 2007, more than 3,200 sq. kilometers (an area equivalent to the size of the state of Rhode Island, in United States) was deforested during a time when deforestation would normally drop.[3]

History

Urarina shaman in the Peruvian Amazon, 1988.

Prior to the early 1960s, access to the forest's interior was highly restricted, and aside from partial clearing along rivers the forest remained basically intact.[4] In many parts of Amazon, the poor soil also made plantation-based agriculture unprofitable. The key turning point in deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon was when colonists established farms within the forest during the 1960s. Their farming system was based on crop cultivation and the slash and burn method. However, the colonists were unable to successfully manage their fields and the crops due to the loss of soil fertility and weed invasion.[5] In indigenous areas of the Peruvian Amazon, such as the Urarina's Chambira River Basin, [6] the soils are productive for relatively short period of time, and indigenous horticulturalists like the Urarina are therefore constantly moving to new areas and clearing more and more land.[5] Amazonian colonization was ruled by cattle raising because ranching required little labor, generated decent profits, and awarded social status in the community. Additionally, grass can grow in the poor Amazon soil. However, the results of the farming lead to extensive deforestation and caused extensive environmental damage.[7] An estimated 30% of the deforestation is due to small farmers and the intensity within the area that they inhabit is greater than the area occupied by the medium and large ranchers who possess 89% of the Legal Amazon’s private land. This emphasizes the importance of using previously cleared land for agricultural use, rather the typical easiest political path of distributing still-forested areas.[8] In the Brazilian Amazon, the amount of small farmers versus large landholders changes frequently with economic and demographic pressures.[8]

In 2008, Peruvian President Alan García pushed through by executive decree Law 840[9] (also known as "Ley de la Selva," "the Law of the Jungle" or simply the "Forest Law"), which allowed the sale of uncultivated Amazon land under state ownership to private companies, without term limits on the property rights.[10] While the law was promoted as a "reforestation" measure, critics claimed the the privatization measure would in fact encourage further deforestation of the Amazon,[11] while surrendering the nation's rights over natural resources to foreign investors and leaving uncertain the fate of Peru's indigenous people, who do not typically hold formal title to the forestlands on which they subsist.[9][12] Law 840 met widespread resistance and was eventually repealed by Peru's legislature for being unconstitutional.[9]

Causes

Fires and Deforestation in Rondonia.
One consequence of forest clearing in the Amazon: thick smoke that hangs over the forest.

The annual rate of deforestation in the Amazon region has continued to increase from 1990 to 2003 because of factors at local, national, and international levels.[4] 70% of formerly forested land in the Amazon, and 91% of land deforested since 1970, is used for livestock pasture.[13][14] In addition, Brazil is currently the second-largest global producer of soybeans after the United States, mostly for export and biodiesel production,[15] and as prices for soybeans rise, the soy farmers are pushing northwards into forested areas of the Amazon. As stated in Brazilian legislation, clearing land for crops or fields is considered an ‘effective use’ of land and is the beginning towards land ownership.[4] Cleared property is also valued 5–10 times more than forested land and for that reason valuable to the owner whose ultimate objective is resale. The needs of soy farmers have been used to validate many of the controversial transportation projects that are currently developing in the Amazon.[4] The first two highways: the Belém-Brasília (1958) and the Cuiaba-Porto Velho (1968) were the only federal highways in the Legal Amazon to be paved and passable year-round before the late 1990’s. These two highways are said to be “at the heart of the ‘arc of deforestation’”, which at present is the focal point area of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. The Belém-Brasilia highway attracted nearly two million settlers in the first twenty years. The success of the Belém-Brasilia highway in opening up the forest was reenacted as paved roads continued to be developed unleashing the irrepressible spread of settlement. The completions of the roads were followed by a wave of resettlement and the settlers had a significant effect on the forest.[16]

Scientists using NASA satellite data have found that clearing for mechanized cropland has recently become a significant force in Brazilian Amazon deforestation. This change in land use may alter the region's climate. Researchers found that in 2003, the then peak year of deforestation, more than 20 percent of the Mato Grosso state’s forests were converted to cropland. This finding suggests that the recent cropland expansion in the region is contributing to further deforestation. In 2005, soybean prices fell by more than 25 percent and some areas of Mato Grosso showed a decrease in large deforestation events, although the central agricultural zone continued to clear forests. However, deforestation rates could return to the high levels seen in 2003 as soybean and other crop prices begin to rebound in international markets. This new driver of forest loss suggests that the rise and fall of prices for other crops, beef, and timber may also have a significant impact on future land use in the region, according to the study. [2]

In 1996, the Amazon was reported to have shown a 34% increase in deforestation since 1992.[17] The mean annual deforestation rate from 2000 to 2005 (22,392 km² per year) was 18% higher than in the previous five years (19,018 km² per year).[18] In Brazil, the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE, or National Institute of Space Research) produces deforestation figures annually. Their deforestation estimates are derived from 100 to 220 images taken during the dry season in the Amazon by the Landsat satellite, also may only consider the loss of the Amazon rainforest biome – not the loss of natural fields or savannah within the rainforest. According to INPE, the original Amazon rainforest biome in Brazil of 4,100,000 km² was reduced to 3,403,000 km² by 2005 – representing a loss of 17.1%.[19]

Period[20] Estimated Remaining Forest Cover
in the Brazilian Amazon (km²)		 Annual forest
loss (km²)		 Percent of 1970
cover remaining		 Total forest loss
since 1970 (km²)
pre-1970 4,100,000 0 100%
1977 3,955,870 21,130 96.50% 144,130
1978-1987 3,744,570 21,130 91.30% 355,430
1988 3,723,520 21,050 90.80% 376,480
1989 3,705,750 17,770 90.40% 394,250
1990 3,692,020 13,730 90.00% 407,980
1991 3,680,990 11,030 89.80% 419,010
1992 3,667,204 13,786 89.40% 432,796
1993 3,652,308 14,896 89.10% 447,692
1994 3,637,412 14,896 88.70% 462,588
1995 3,608,353 29,059 88.00% 491,647
1996 3,590,192 18,161 87.60% 509,808
1997 3,576,965 13,227 87.20% 523,035
1998 3,559,582 17,383 86.80% 540,418
1999 3,542,323 17,259 86.40% 557,677
2000 3,524,097 18,226 86.00% 575,903
2001 3,505,932 18,165 85.50% 594,068
2002 3,484,727 21,205 85.00% 615,273
2003 3,459,576 25,151 84.40% 640,424
2004 3,432,147 27,429 83.70% 667,853
2005 3,413,354 18,793 83.30% 686,646
2006 3,400,254 13,100 82.90% 699,746

One of the most important causations of deforestation is the growing agricultural commodities such as soya, which is used mainly to feed animals. Although major fast food companies such as McDonald's have denied of feeding its chickens with soya from the Amazon rainforest that are supplied by agricultural giant Cargill; however, not only did evidences prove this to be true, but also pointed out the soya farmers were linked to the use of slave labors, illegal land grabbing and massive deforestation. McDonald's and its suppliers should be responsible for the 70,000km² of the Amazon's deforestation in the last three years. Greenpeace have demanded fast food companies to eliminate soya trade or any meat products that are associated with the Amazon rainforest.[21]

Future

At the current rate, in two decades the Amazon Rainforest will be reduced by 40%.[22] The 2005-2006 year had a 41% drop in deforestation; this was the lowest figure since 1991.[citation needed]

Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg announced on September 16, 2008, that the Norwegian Government would donate US$ 1 billion to the newly established Amazon fund. The money from this fund will go to projects aimed at slowing down the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Various (2001). Bierregaard, Richard; Gascon, Claude; Lovejoy, Thomas E.; Mesquita, Rita (ed.). Lessons from Amazonia: The Ecology and Conservation of a Fragmented Forest. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300084838.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  2. ^ Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) (2004)
  3. ^ Staff (2008-02-07). "Amazon Deforestation Rate Escalates". The Real Truth. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  4. ^ a b c d Kirby, Kathryn R.; Laurance, William F.; Albernaz, Ana K.; Schroth, Götz; Fearnside, Philip M.; Bergen, Scott; M. Venticinque, Eduardo; Costa, Carlos da (2006). "The future of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon". Futures. 38 (4): 432–453. doi:10.1016/j.futures.2005.07.011.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Watkins and Griffiths, J. (2000). Forest Destruction and Sustainable Agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon: a Literature Review (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Reading, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 15-17
  6. ^ Dean, Bartholomew 2009 Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia, Gainesville: University Press of Florida ISBN 978-081303378 [1]
  7. ^ Williams, M. (2006). Deforesting the Earth: From Prehistory to Global Crisis (Abridged edition ed.). Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226899470. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  8. ^ a b Fernside, P. M. (2005). Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences. Conservation Biology, 19, 680-688.
  9. ^ a b c Polk, James. "Time to Strengthen Ties with Peru". Foreign Policy In Focus. April 14, 2009.
  10. ^ Vittor, Luis. ["The law of the jungle, to sell the Amazon basin"]. Agencia Latinoamericana de información. January 30, 2008.
  11. ^ "Peru: Government intent on privatizing the Amazon for implementing tree plantations". World Rainforest Movement, Bulletin 129. April 2008.
  12. ^ Salazar, Milagros. "ENVIRONMENT-PERU: 'For Sale' Signs in Amazon Jungle". Inter Press Service. February 5, 2008.
  13. ^ Steinfeld, Henning; Gerber, Pierre; Wassenaar, T. D.; Castel, Vincent (2006). Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251055718. Retrieved 2008-08-19.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Margulis, Sergio (2004). "Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon" (PDF). World Bank Working Paper No. 22. Washington D.C.: The World Bank. ISBN 0821356917. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
  15. ^ "U.S. ethanol may drive Amazon deforestation". mongabay.com. May 17, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  16. ^ Williams, M. (2006). Deforesting the Earth: From Prehistory to Global Crisis. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
  17. ^ Beef exports fuel loss of Amazonian Forest. CIFOR News Online, Number 36
  18. ^ Barreto, P.; Souza Jr. C.; Noguerón, R.; Anderson, A. & Salomão, R. 2006. Human Pressure on the Brazilian Amazon Forests. Imazon. Retrieved September 28, 2006. (The Imazon web site contains many resources relating to the Brazilian Amazonia.)
  19. ^ . National Institute for Space Research (INPE) (2005). The INPE deforestation figures for Brazil were cited on the WWF Websitein April 2006.
  20. ^ From article by Rhett A. Butler, which is taken from INPE and FAO figures.
  21. ^ Greenpeace. 2006. We're trashin' it: how McDonald's is eating up the Amazon. Amsterdam: Greenpeace
  22. ^ National Geographic, January 2007.
  23. ^ "NOK 5.8 billion to the Amazon fund". [The Norwegian Mail]. September 17, 2008.


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