Although land use and rainforest conservation are regional issues specific to Brazil, the environmental importance of the Amazon rainforest makes it a global issue. As stated by the Director of the Brazillian Forest Service, “The Amazon region comprises 61 percent of Brazil’s land area (5.3 million square kilometers), with a population of 20 million people. The region has the largest continuous tropical forest in the world and hosts around 20 percent of the world’s plant and animal species" (Azevedo-Ramos 2007). If the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest was merely a regional issue it would affect the population of 21 million people, the fifth of the world’s species, and the over five million square kilometers that make up the Amazon: but I assure you it is not just a regional issue. In addition to the detrimental results of deforestation on the rainforest ecosystem that makes up 61% of Brazil’s landmass, it also heavily impacts the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. This is because the trees of the Amazon have been nicknamed “The Lungs of the Earth” for the astounding amount of breathable oxygen they make from carbon dioxide ("Amazon Rainforest Infographic" 2015).
The Amazon covers 5,5000,000km2 of northern and western Brazil, and encompasses the Amazon river and tributaries.
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So who makes up the over twenty million people of the Amazon? It is a compilation of over four hundred different indigenous tribes, some with modern tools and some who live in “voluntary isolation”. Though fourteen million citizens of the region live in urban areas, no city is over two million people ("People of the Amazon" 2003). The cities remain small and not industrialized because Amazonian people still maintain a strong connection to their surroundings regardless of the population density in the region (Butler, "Amazon People" 2014).However, despite its global importance, this post will be focused on the regional scale as it allows for the examination of issues specific to Brazil and its conservation policies. Also, in terms of the geography associated with the problem, the Amazon rainforest is a tropical forest biome.
Specifics of the Problem
The Amazon rainforest has been under threat since the 1970s because of economic and demographic expansion. In total, 600,000 sq. km of Amazon rainforest has already been cleared. Besides growing populations, deforestation rates have increased in part due to increased agricultural viability (Butler 2006). During 2001, deforestation rates were occurring at 2 million hectares per year (Rainforest Conservation Fund 2010).
By 2008, 17% of the Amazon rainforest was chopped down. Most of this area became low-productivity pastures.
The image above shows how annual deforestation of the Amazon has increased from 2002 to 2011 and that both strict protection conservation units and sustainable use conservation units have decreased in the same time period (Assunção and Chiavari, 2014).
The trees in the Amazon contain 60 to 80 billion tons of carbon. Deforestation of the Amazon alone would account for 200 million tons of carbon annually in 2005; this amount was equivalent to 3% of net carbon emissions globally and 70% of Brazil’s emissions (Azevedo-Ramos 2007). By 2009, 90% of Brazil’s Atlantic forest was chopped down. This was a region home to many endangered species. Since 1970, more than 230 thousand square miles of Brazilian forest has been destroyed. Many of the origins of the issue are a result of the industrial and agricultural expansion, people inhabiting protected areas, and the absence of strong protection at the time (Platt 2009).
The graph above shows that observed deforestation actually decreased overall between 2007 and 2011. The graph also provides an estimate as to how much more severe the deforestation of the Amazon would be in the absence of any policy changes (Assunção and Chiavari 2014).
However, things have been improving since 2005 as the annual rate of deforestation has fallen while the soy and beef production have continued to rise (Nepstad et. al 2014). Also, as of 2013, 12 million hectares of rainforest are under protection. The Amazon Regional Protected Areas Program is working to add 25 million more hectares. 62 million new hectares of protected areas were established. ARPA covers 70 million hectares of rainforest now. Between 2004-2009, a 37% decrease in deforestation was credited to ARPA. Protected areas represent an emissions offset of 430 million tons of carbon (The World Bank 2013). Overall, from 2006-2012, deforestation rates fell by over 80 percent. 150 million acres carved out for conservation. However, agriculture is still 22% of Brazil’s GDP and the government attempted to relax some restrictions on deforestation for farmers in 2012 (Barrionuevo 2012).
Science and Causes of the Issue
Image: (Butler, "Forests in Brazil" 2014)
Cattle Ranching
A main cause of deforestation is cattle ranching. This is where trees are cut and land is converted into a pasture for cattle grazing. 70% of deforestation in the Amazon basin can be attributed to cattle ranching. This is an area that would be larger than the state of Washington. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef; increased value of beef increased the incentive for exports. As demand for beef increases, so should deforestation. However, this may be getting better because many groups have taken steps for rainforest conservation by buying only certified beef. This may improve the situation by creating incentives for maintaining forest reserves. Beef producers were fined by the government in 2013 for illegally raising cattle on deforested rainforest land. Deforestation of the Amazon, however, is continuing (Sarma 2014).
The image above shows how pastures (a) and croplands (b) were distributed in 2000 before many policies were put into place in Brazil (Lapola and Martinelli 2013).
Soybean Production
Brazil is a major soybean producer. The soybean crop requires a lot of lands and is quite profitable; the crop receives government support for its value as an export. Two highways were constructed by the government which made deforestation worse. Higher international soybean prices, increased soybean demand from Europe, and rapid economic growth in China all contributed to making soybeans a more valuable crop. Its potential use as a biofuel has also encouraged local soybean producers to increase their plantation area. It is difficult to increase production without simultaneously increasing deforestation (Azevedo-Ramos 2007).
Timber
Excess timber is produced from deforestation for agricultural purposes. Economic profit is obtained from timber. The timber is valued at several trillion dollars. Causes include the rapid increase in the non-indigenous population in the Amazon, increase in industrial logging and mining encouraged by road construction, and by increased deforestation in the core of the Amazon instead of localized deforestation along the margins (Rainforest Conservation Fund 2010).
Poaching
Consequences and Impacts of the Issue
Works Cited
Poaching
Another significant issue related to rainforest conservation is poaching. Due to the rarity of many of the animals, the various species of birds and other animals fetch a high price on the black market. The absence of a strong deterrent in the region has also contributed to this problem (Kirby 2002).
Slash-and-Burn Agriculture
Another cause is the slash-and-burn agricultural technique that increases forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and risk of large fires (Azevedo-Ramos 2007).
Figure 5(a) shows how much in terms of CO2 emissions deforestation was responsible for according to different biomes. In Figure 5(b), LUC refers to CO2 emissions that occurred as a result of deforestation (Lapola and Martinelli 2013).
Consequences and Impacts of the Issue
In terms of consequences, the potential loss of endangered species is a major issue. As of 2009, over 6% of all endangered species were in Brazil (Choppin 2009). As previously mentioned, the Amazon Rainforest is especially important because it is the largest remaining tropical rainforest on the planet. It contains ⅓ of the world’s species, ¼ of the world’s freshwater, ⅕ of the world’s forests, 48 billion tons of CO2 stored in its trees, and 200 indigenous and traditional communities (The Nature Conservancy 2015). Beyond that, it also contains 20% of the world's bird species, 427 mammal species, 40,000 plant species, and 2.5 million insect species. It is also home to 21 million people and it's important to note that 57% of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation; 81% of that deforestation comes from cattle ranching alone ("Amazon Rainforest Infographic" 2015). Deforestation also has a major impact on Brazil’s water supply, because fewer trees mean less transpiration. Without transpiration, less water enters the atmosphere and fewer clouds are formed. As a result, there is less rain in the region ("Amazon Rainforest Water Cycle Infographic" 2015).
Irresponsible land use policies and tropical deforestation are global issues with far-reaching consequences. "Land-use activities, primarily for agricultural expansion and timber extraction, have caused a net loss of ∼7 to 11 million km2 of forest in the past 300 years" (Foley 2015). The loss of tropical forest to human activity has had worldwide impacts such as the expansion of tropical diseases into temperate areas, modified global climate patterns due to decreased CO2 uptake, and an impacted hydrological cycle due to the removal of trees which cycle water, and the unique precipitation facilitation of the rainforest canopies due to evapotranspiration. Other global issues such as air quality are tangentially affected by forest removal, and the loss of global biodiversity stocks holds a grim prospect for the future of human medical endeavors ("Deforestation in New Guinea")
Solutions
Ranching intensification through revised taxation policy
Intensification of beef production has been projected to be capable of achieving at least 50% of the deforestation reduction goal the Brazilian government has set for 2020, as well as leading to significant greenhouse gas abatement. A tax placed on products from cattle raised through traditional (non-intensive) methods, which would not apply to cattle raised intensively, would serve to accelerate intensification, and reduce new clearings for pasture. More intensive pastures demand less land, although the decrease in global beef production associated with the marginal increase in beef cost due to the tax would also factor in the decrease in land use. Land used for intensive pastures is also more likely to be located away from the forested frontier and closer to markets and development (Cohn et al 2014).
(Image:ibid).
Agrarian Reform
Irresponsible land use policies and tropical deforestation are global issues with far-reaching consequences. "Land-use activities, primarily for agricultural expansion and timber extraction, have caused a net loss of ∼7 to 11 million km2 of forest in the past 300 years" (Foley 2015). The loss of tropical forest to human activity has had worldwide impacts such as the expansion of tropical diseases into temperate areas, modified global climate patterns due to decreased CO2 uptake, and an impacted hydrological cycle due to the removal of trees which cycle water, and the unique precipitation facilitation of the rainforest canopies due to evapotranspiration. Other global issues such as air quality are tangentially affected by forest removal, and the loss of global biodiversity stocks holds a grim prospect for the future of human medical endeavors ("Deforestation in New Guinea")
Solutions
Ranching intensification through revised taxation policy
(Image:ibid).
Agrarian Reform
Macroeconomic factors governing the availability of capital and the rate of inflation are cited as determinants of the rate of deforestation. Large landholders are primarily responsible for deforestation for agriculture, as opposed to smallholders, as evidenced the location of the deforestation, which occurred principally in areas of large landholding. The growth of intensified cash crop agriculture is a precedence for infrastructure development in forested areas which begins “an insidious chain of investment and profiteering that can be expected to destroy more forest than the plantations themselves.” In order to reduce deforestation, the tax credits for large-scale cash crop cultivation in Amazonian states be removed entirely (Fearnside 2005).
In order to reduce new deforestation rates,
In order to reduce new deforestation rates,
Expansion of Protection/Enforcement Policies
The Brazilian government has recently implemented a set of conservation measures, which have expanded rainforest protected areas and increased monitoring and law enforcement. These measures are conducted under the expanded umbrella of the ARPA program, which has already proven itself successful. The measures integrate actions of local and federal enforcement agencies and coordinates "innovative procedures for monitoring, environmental control, and territorial management." The Real-Time Detection of Deforestation LANDSAT system, which captures images of Amazon forest cover on 15-day intervals identifies deforestation hot spots and is able to notify local law enforcement to stop them. As a result, the deforestation rate decreased from 2.7 million to 460 thousand hectares in the last ten years (Assunção and Chiavari 2015).
Conclusion
The current outlook for Amazonian deforestation is good. In 2014, the World Wildlife Fund added $215 million to the ARPA Amazon conservation program. ARPA has conserved and protected 128 million acres of rainforest in the past 10 years. The Brazilian government led program's efforts have been a major conservation success story ("Amazon Rainforest Conservation" 2014). With strong support from both private organizations and the Brazilian government, it seems possible for this issue to be resolved. In fact, the government of Norway pledged $1 billion to aid in the conservation efforts. Conservation of valuable rainforest land, however, will require additional time and political will.
The current outlook for Amazonian deforestation is good. In 2014, the World Wildlife Fund added $215 million to the ARPA Amazon conservation program. ARPA has conserved and protected 128 million acres of rainforest in the past 10 years. The Brazilian government led program's efforts have been a major conservation success story ("Amazon Rainforest Conservation" 2014). With strong support from both private organizations and the Brazilian government, it seems possible for this issue to be resolved. In fact, the government of Norway pledged $1 billion to aid in the conservation efforts. Conservation of valuable rainforest land, however, will require additional time and political will.
When it comes to environmental issues such as land conservation, air pollution, or fossil fuel usage, it’s important to not lose hope. With how dire the situation was just a few decades ago, it’s incredible to see the progress that Brazil has made on its land use and rainforest conservation policies. With strong collaboration between Brazil’s government and numerous private organizations such as the WHO and the WWF, great strides have been made in this issue. The most important lesson here is that even the most intimidating social and environmental issues can be dealt with through increased education and collaboration on a regional and global scale.
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