Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest

In this coursework I will be investigating de afforestation and stating my opinion on whether I think it should impact or non in the virago rain forest In doing so I will identify the various divers(prenominal) values and attitudes. In this assignment I will include maps as well as diagrams, graphs, charts. The Earth is a constant changing system a serious type of change that is existence contri anded by man, is deforestation. deforestation is the clearing out of forests so that they canful cultivated and used for other purposes.Due to this particular method of cultivating land it has resulted with vast aras of the virago rain forest being tot integraly breaked far beyond rep crease. Be start out of this scientists fear that me very(prenominal) natural medicinal plants and ve hold upation whitethorn be lost permanently. deforestation In The amazon fallforest Deforestation robs the world of countless(prenominal) species, destroying crucial Biodiversity and losing speci es with potential uses in medicine, agriculture and industry. Biodiversity is important because it contri alonees to resiliency in my opinion and should rail precedence.The main worry for environmentalists much(prenominal) as my self is that more species be being lost as their habitats are being destroyed. In a rain forest, trusted small areas are individual, specific habitats themselves. This means that if cardinal small area of the rainforest is clear-cut, it could mean that a whole series of species are wiped out. The clearing of maneuvers causes the root anchoring the colly in the land to be destroyed, the removal of leaves and branches that intercept eight out of every ten raindrops lead to soil erosion.These devastating make cause the land to be pursue inhospitable and lead to the further in the altogether down of trees to provide new agricultural land. Nearly 40 percent of all the tropical rainforest left in the world is in the brazil-nut treeian Amazon. brazil -nut tree, the large(p)st country in South America, has perhaps the best opportunity remaining to save large tracks of tropical rainforest. Although Brazil has lost approximately 58 percent of its frontier forests (large tracks of relatively undisturbed old growth forest), the country still has are oer 772,200 square miles of frontier forest, among the largest amount of any country worldwide.Brazil is in any case home to a second, less famous rainforest, the Atlantic rainfallforest. This strip of rainforest extends from the nor-east coast down to the southern state of Parana. Formerly covering more than 386, 100 square miles, only if 5 percent of the original Atlantic Rainforest remains. numerous species that live here, including river otters, jaguars, and armadillos, are at luxuriously risk of extinction due to habitat loss caused by logging and agricultural clearing. The Amazon is one of the worlds great rainforests and its river, is longer than any river but the Nile.The v ast Amazon basin covers more than two and a half million square miles, more than any other rainforest but for how long will this be the case? The Amazon rainforest is located in South America, where its area takes up a quarter of the content. The forest is so large it spans nine countries French Guyana, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. It has an super humid modality as do most rainforests due its equatorial em orientment which means it rains frequently The rain be incurs trapped in canopy causing heatWarm air caring water vapor will maturate Warm air that falls here will become trapped in the canopy this will raise the temperature. The Amazon rainforest has many different species of plants and animal(prenominal)s. For plant species at that place are between 5,000,000 and 30,000,000 (estimated). Only a little more than 30,000 nurse been classified and this represents 10% of all plants around the world. As for animal species there are about 324 mammals, and there are 2,500 to 3,000 species of fresh water fishes in the Amazon River.Statistics in this paragraph were taken from http//oz. plymouth. du/lts/conservation/Ecosystems/amazon. html Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest The Correlation between Deforestation And Soil Erosion Once trees are felled there are no leaves to protect the soil beneath, from heavy rainfall also there are no roots to hold the saturated soil in place. When this occurs it makes it extremely easy for soil to be washed or blown away. Then the area of land becomes useless because you cant build on it because foundations wont be stable ample and you cant cultivate it grow crops because nutrients such as silt etc need been washed/blown away.Nobody benefits. Soil Loss In Tones Per Hectare Per Year. Bare Soil Pasture Crop Land Rain/Forest As you can see when a area of land is bare the soil erosion is at its highest and when its left alone as Rain/Forest its at its lowest the activity of deforestation obviously affects the rain forest but soil erosion is a perfect example of a more subtle affect, it not only persecutes the rainforest directly but also damages cultivating potential for the area and any future plans you whitethorn have for the site e. g. building etcDeforestation occurs in many forms most of the clearing is done for agricultural purposes grazing, planting crops, cattle ranches etc. Poor farmers place pressure on the Brazilian regime and local authorities to allow them to cut down small areas of Rainforest (typically a few acres) and burn the tree trunks in a process called slash and burn. Slash and burn is the traditional method used by the American Indianans of the rainforest and they all ship canal replace the areas they damage. Although this method is the most sustainaiable its the most dangerous and one of the most abused.Desperate farmers will request an area of land to be cultivated and by design let the fire grow beyond control so they will be able to claim a few acres extra, due to the particular the slash and burn method is never exact and the method is so finial. Once its done its done the government feels they are powerless. Intensive or new agriculture occurs on a far greater scale, sometimes deforesting several square miles at a time. Large cattle pastures often replace rainforest to grow beef and such like for the world market, mostly for fast the food industry. McDonalds etc.Commercial logging is another common form of deforestation, cutting trees for sale as timber or pulp. enter can occur selectively-where only the economically important species of tree are cut, or by clearcutting, where all the trees are cut. Commercial logging uses heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, road graders, and log skidders, to re fly the coop cut trees and build roadstead, which is just as damage to the rainforest overall as the chainsaws are to the individual trees. Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest Deforestation by pea sant farmers is often done to raise crops for self-subsistence, and is determined by the basic human need for food.Most tropical countries are very poor by U. S. standards, and farming is a basic way of bread and butter for a large part of the people. In Brazil, for example, the average annual earnings per person is U. S. $5400, compared to $26,980 per person in the United State The causes of deforestation are very complex. A competitive global economy drives the need for notes in economically challenged tropical countries such as Brazil. Governments sell logging concessions to raise silver for other vitial projects such as hospitials and schooling, to pay international debt, or to develop a more advanced industry infer structure.For example, Brazil had an international debt of $159 one thousand million in 1995, on which it must make regular payments each year. The logging companies seek to exploit the rainforest and make a profit from the sales of pulp and valuable hardwoods such as genus Sepia. Brazil hasnt got much to offer the world in material goods other than what re addresss it has in its Rainforest so their government feels that if they dont continue to allow this clear and obvious exploitation of the rainforest they will fall behind in their payments and be unable to support their expanding population.I would describe Brazil as a mettle income developing country I would place it in the same bracket as Mexico and Malaysia Its GNP US $ PER CAPITA is 3020 and it has a high infant mortality rate 57. One can only assume that a government would indispensableness to change these statistics and the easiest and quickest way for the brazilin government to get there hands on the money to do this is through the rainforest. Some other effects of deforestation are less rainfall so the clean land becomes much drier possibly even a desert. More CO2 in the air this increases the greenhouse gasses causing global warming and climate change.Industry and power s tations that have been built give off more C02 fewer trees to produce oxygen and absorb CO2. Fewer trees means less transpiration and this mean less water vapor in the air less water vapor in the air means less condensation overall. Many birds, insects, and animals rely upon the rainforest as a food source and for shelter. After deforestation they will either die or be forced to move away from there natural habitat when animals move some where else it will put a strain on other food chains and may even cause a mass extension.When the Rainforest is cleared peoples that lived there before are forced to leave and mix with the mainstream population this has had dire effects on them because when they mix with people outside the rainforest they develop illnesses that they had no immunity from there immune systems cant cope with western illnesses measles, influenza Those who are go enough to stick out and stay are soon driven out from their homes by the construction of roads mines and res ervoirs. Many people who tri to resist developers are killed by developers.tree diagrams absorb a tremendous amount of water if there are no trees the water will sink into the soil and change it to dirty If it continues to rain many surrounding crops will be ruined because of flooding Humus Cycle In Area of Tropical Rainforest Rich Tree Growth Numerous Fallen Leaves Leaves Decay To for Humus Nutrients Added To Soil Humus Cycle In Area of Forest Thats Been Cleared Poor Quality botany Fewer Trees And Leaves Less Humus Fewer Nutrients Added To Soil Less fertile Deforestation In The Amazon RainforestPeople Living In urban Areas In Brazil % In This Graph you can see that the number of people choosing to live in urban areas is increasing dramatically this is one of the reasons the Brazilian government continues to clear vast areas of rainforest. The cleared areas can be turned into residential areas to house more and more people. Statistics for this graph were taken from the Key geograp hics book Cleared Natural Forest In Order To Build Roads For Mining Access In This graph you can see that Brazil has by far the highest clearance for mining access.This is because the Brazilian government export masses of mined goods found in and around the rainforest such as gold, sliver, and iron ore. Statistics for this graph were taken fromWWW. GREENPEACE. COM Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest Groups of people that support deforestation in the Amazon rainforest are the Logging and mining companies as well as the various governments. Multinational companies support deforestation because they are supplying for demand and a large market, if people want mahogany furniture and idealistic gems/metals therefore theyll go and clear entire forests in order to give it to them and make a huge profit in the process.These companies see developing countries as an easy target they can clear huge areas of forest and pay them a fraction of what they should do the ironic thing is they no theyll be grateful for the money because they can barley support there expanding populations. As an outsider you would see these actions as inhuman and immoral but they do help the countries where deforestation is pickings place a great deal. Many of these countries have nothing to offer other that holiday destinations so the only thing they can sell sad as it may seem is there heritage and Rainforest.When land has been cultivated through logging and mining the money will go to the government who will spend the money on its population in the form of a better education or hospitals and roads so the peoples of these countries are benefiting slightly but some people may enounce that its not worth it in the long term if they keep on then sooner or later there will no rainforests at all then the big companies will leave them with nothing.Places where there is a growing population in urban areas such as Brazil find them selves allowing big companies to destroy their rainforest in order for them to afford to destroy it them selves in processing large rainforest areas into residents for people to live in. Any one would love to earn something for nothing and thats exactly how these companies view it they get these valuable materials for next too nothing and sell them on for extortionate prices. They see them selves as aiding the developing countries and in a way they are but what they are actually doing is feeding them with one hand and killing them with the other. in that respect are many groups of people that do not support deforestation in the Amazon rainforest such as the natives that lived in the rainforest they see developers not as savors and job makers but as ruthless exploiters that kill vast amounts of animals and barmy life with no remorse. Other reasons both the natives and local people are so against the clearing of the rainforest are they dont actually see any benefits in return the government often waste money on city expansion, national defense ,and economic aid which comes as a surprise since they can hardly feed them selves let alone any one else.When forest clearing was first introduced the main reason was to help them get out of debt but people who dont agree with deforestation will say they never been in so much debt they were better of aliveness in small villages before at least then they could feed themselves and lived a less complicated life. The amount of land with trees on it shrinks each year. It gets harder and harder to meet local and global demands for wood and is extremely stressful and for what? Some people have proposed that the solution to tropical deforestation is to set aside vast areas as parks and reserves.This may buy enough time to give local governments a chance to address the underlying causes of deforestation-poverty, growing populations, and misguided policies. And many people feel that setting aside tropical reserves will ensure that unused areas will continue to exist. They point out that many spe cies cant survive in managed (human-used) forests. Local people may say that the rainforest is one of the main reasons people come to visit them without that then they will lose a lot of revenue gained through tourists.People have not dwelt in large numbers throughout the tropical rain forests, but small groups of people live throughout the region. They constantly move around and clear small areas and plant crops. When they reach an area they want to use, they chop down trees and burn them in order to create a clear area. They then plant seeds in the ashesbut after a few years the soil nutrients become used up and it is no longer good for gardening, so they move somewhere else and start the process all over again. This process is called slash-and-burn cultivation, which can support a small population but will not work with larger ones.Deforestation in the Amazon rainforestIn this assignment I will be investigating Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. I have been given a hypothesi s, which I have to agree or disagree with the statement by using the sources and from my own research. The hypothesis I have been given is Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is a major global environmental issue that only the Brazilian government can exonerate. The whole issue is about deforestation, Deforestation is the felling and clearance of the forest land. It began in the Mediterranean lands many centuries ago.Today is mainly taking place in the less economically developed countries that have the tropical rainforests as their natural vegetation. The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is one of the largest rainforest in the world, it contains 50% of the worlds animal population and it produces one third of the worlds oxygen. Pharmatical Companys across the world use plants from the forest to produce life saving medicines for the people of the world.How and why is the rainforest being cleared ?There are many reasons to why the rainforest is being cleared. One of them is that the B razilian government has allowed deforestation to take place in the Amazon rainforest is because they are in debt. They have let the Multinational companies deforest the rainforest so that they can raise money to pay off their debt owed to the banks in the MEDC countries. These outgrowths are taking place now in the Amazon rainforest e.g. Commercial logging, cattle ranches, raw materials, mining and e.t.c. when these development takes place large areas of the rainforest has to be cleared out. From my research I found out that only 5% of the forest trees are actually wanted by the loggers but to get those trees they have to damage or destroy 65% of the remaining ones.What groups benefit from deforestation in the Amazon rainforest ?They are many people and groups that benefit from deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Mostly the MNCs, they have cleared large areas for cattle ranching. They have burnt down trees and replaced it with grass. Then the beef which is produced from the cat tle ranches is gone to Europe and US to be made into burgers. The MNCs are also involved in logging, which has been permitted only in 13 designated areas. base E supports my point, it says that The USA is the main importer of Brazilian mahogany. The multinational companies pay tax for every area they felled but they benefit from it because the money goes back to the banks in MEDC countries to pay off their debts.The international debt of Brazils is getting rase by letting people and companies fell the trees in the rainforest as you can see in Source G shows a graph of the external debt of Brazil, which shows at the beginning the debt was low and then in the middle it got higher and now its getting lower. This source is consistent with Source J because it tells how the external debt got higher. In the Amazon rainforest large areas are being cleared to make hydro electric PowerStation because it rains a lot in the rainforest so there is outright water supply. The HEP stations prov ide cheap and plentiful energy for transport, domestic use and industry. The mining companies also benefit from it because there are huge deposits of iron ore, copper, gold, bauxite and other minerals in the rainforests. So these companies have felled the trees to build roads through the forest to reach these deposits.What are the negative consequences of deforestation ?Deforestation has many negative consequences globally and locally. The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is responsible for producing one third of the worlds oxygen. Many trees have been felled, which has increased global warming because carbon copy dioxide is getting higher. Because of the increase of carbon dioxide it has started to destroy the ozone layer, which then lets the harmful rays from the sun reach earth. As you can see source OStates how carbon dioxide goes into air and also source P which also shows that America is the largest polluter. Source R also shows us that if there were no trees there wont be any oxy gen, it also shows in the picture the clouds representing pollution. The other consequences are loss of wildlife where birds and insects rely on trees for food and shelter. There is a loss in medicine. It has also killed 96% of the Indians living in the rainforest because of the arrival of the Europeans. Those remaining have been driven from their homes by the constructions of roads, mines, reservoirs, cattle ranches and also forced to live in reservations. Source A dialog about the Indians who are dying as development takes place. Their life styles are changing.The felling of the trees has also led to soil erosion by the rain in the rainforest. It rains every half and hour and is led to frequent flooding because there are no trees. All the rich soil which has the humus in it is flowed away by the flooding. After the rain there is a lot of heat given by the sun which bakes the poor soil, which then the areas of the forest which dont have trees turn into deserts. As it is also state d in source F in the second paragraph that the Scientific studies have repeatedly shown that the Amazon soil is not fitting for agriculture and cattle ranching. The hardwood is also becoming endangered. Source E also shows that the MNCs buy raw material like mahogany which they know come in illegal areas which they turn the blind eye on purpose. This source also talks about slavery which existed in the rainforest, which was abolished in 1888. People went to sound off to the police about this but the police were corrupt and bribed and were useless.Government ActionsThe government is facing great problems now like the debts its facing which is getting higher chance(a) because of its interests. Brazil is trapped in the cycle of poverty. The government is also involved in causing more global warming and itself has done some deforestation in the rainforest. The other actions the government took was when the cities in the south east were very overcrowded and they reduce this problem by giving these people land in the middle of the rainforest where there wasnt a good infrastructure. The government has protected National Parks as it says in source C that the government has protected the rare areas of outstanding natural beauty to preserve and protect the future as these cannot be produced again. There are many companies who take advantage of Brazils cheap resources. The Brazilian government has employed people from the favelas to work for these companies so the profit does not go straight out of the companies.Evaluation of the sources used Source A is against development and its quite recent. It says its a Brazilian newspaper but we dont know which one, we dont know how many Amerindians there were in the beginning. Its incomplete and it also tells us that the Multinational Companies (MNCs) and the government are working together to move the people to the Amazon.Source C is about what is the government doing? This source is sustainable but it is inconsistence and ha s exaggerated the facts like when it says in the third paragraph From 2001 to April 2002, it transferred 20 million hectares. When the source was adapted from a Brazilian newspaper which we dont know in March 2002. This shows that the dates were exaggerated because April 2002 had not come yet.Source E is against development and is reliable because its a broad sheet which is more reliable than tabloid. There are other reasons why is reliable that is it there has been an interview with the MNCs, its got facts, its quite recent, it has got dates and it tells us the true corruption.Source F is against development. Although the first paragraph is reliable because of the via satellite which does not lie but the second paragraph we dont know which scientific studies. Although this source is from the charity which most of the time charities exaggerate so that they get money and get known. But this source is reliable because they have done space research.Source G is for development because i ts showing that by letting the MNCs deforest the rainforest their debt is getting lower. It is also reliable because its consistent with source J and we also know the newspaper.Source J is for development. The headline is exaggerated. It is very reliable because its consistent with source G but only the date is old.Source O is against development and its reliable because the source is adapted from the UN. This source is 5 years old.Source P is against development and its reliable because the source is from the UN. This source tells us that America is the largest polluter. This source is also 5 years old.Source R is against development. This source could be bias. This source shows us that the trees which provide oxygen are not there now, the clouds shows pollution and the person is getting bigger.ConclusionIn my conclusion I agree with the hypothesis that only the Brazilian government can solve deforestation in the Amazon rainforest because they have started it and they are the one w ho can end it. One way they can make money without damaging or destroying the rainforest is by increasing their export so that their trade becomes surplus, that means that they export more than they import and by doing this they will get more money. There are two conflicts of interest in the rainforest. One is the groups that want to use the rainforest to make money.The other group of people wants to protect the rainforest and leave it as it is. In the middle are the people who live there. These people living in the forest want to preserve and use the resources from the forest to improve their standard of living. The solution to this is to manage the rainforest sustainable which is using the resources carefully like when cutting down the trees needed you shouldnt destroy the surroundings with it. The Brazilian government can also charge more tax for every area the MNCs deforest and also make them plant 3 more trees in that area.