Amazon Rainforest Deforestation: Brazil's Environmental Crisis

Introduction: The Amazon Under Threat

The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil is under attack from a variety of sources. The rainforest is not only integral to the Brazilian economy, but to the world as well. It provides a rich source of natural and regenerative resources to the country and serves as one of the largest natural carbon deposits — commonly called carbon sinks — on the planet. Brazil is home to nearly half of Earth's rainforests, absorbing approximately 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year — a third of the United States' 2010 greenhouse gas output (Editorial Board, 2012).

Three primary themes emerge from the pressures facing the Amazon. The first is that deforestation is threatening the vitality of the Earth's regenerative systems through soil degradation and the loss of carbon sinks. The second is that the forest is not being used to its full economic potential: setting aside environmental concerns, burning forest to make room for farms or livestock is not a viable economic solution, as it creates enormous amounts of waste. Finally, beyond their local impact, the rainforests have a global role in regulating the carbon cycle. Disruption of that role could have substantial ramifications for the Earth's climate and could trigger a feedback process that accelerates damage to the planet's ability to regulate its energy balance.

It is not only the Amazon that is threatened. Brazil's Salto Morato Nature Preserve is a haven for scientists studying the dwindling Atlantic rainforest — an area less renowned than the Amazon but just as biologically diverse and equally threatened by human encroachment (Aziakou, 2012). All of these issues have generated domestic political debate on both sides of the aisle, creating a tough balancing act between economic development and environmental preservation that politicians must constantly navigate.

Economic and Political Dimensions of Deforestation

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vetoed nine articles of a new forestry code approved by Congress — articles that environmentalists warned would lead to further deforestation in the Amazon (Associated Free Press, 2012). The vetoes, however, triggered a wave of outrage from agricultural industry leaders. Brazil has also faced intense international pressure to demonstrate its environmental credentials, particularly from participants in Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, when world leaders met in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 (Pearson, 2012).

The tension between economic growth and forest protection is not new. Burning or clearing forest to expand agricultural land may appear economically rational to individual actors, yet at the macro level it represents a squandering of resources — both biological and climatic — whose value far exceeds the short-term gains from farming or ranching on degraded land.

International Pressure and Local Realities

The Amazon's fate is not solely a domestic matter. Foreign nations and international organizations are also attempting to influence the debate. Norway's $650 billion sovereign wealth fund, for instance, began requiring companies it invests in to minimize their impact on rainforests (Doyle, 2012). The fund scrutinizes corporate supply chains to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and rewards sustainable partners with greater access to capital.

However important such mechanisms may be to international investors, organizations of this kind have little influence over subsistence farmers who clear rainforest as their only means of supporting their families. Despite tough domestic enforcement measures, local farmers continue to take the risk because, for many, it is their sole livelihood. This gap between high-level financial incentives and ground-level economic desperation represents one of the most difficult challenges in tropical rainforest conservation.

Conclusion

Even though seasonal forests may show some resilience to seasonal drought, they are likely to face intensified water stress caused by higher temperatures and to be vulnerable to fires, which are at present naturally rare in much of Amazonia (Malhi et al., 2009). The interaction of deforestation, climate change, and feedback dynamics means that the stakes extend well beyond Brazil's borders. Protecting the Amazon requires coordinated action at local, national, and international levels — balancing the legitimate economic needs of communities dependent on the forest with the planet's urgent need to preserve one of its most critical climate-regulating systems.

Works Cited

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Malhi, Y., Aragao, L., Galbraith, D., Huntingford, C., Fisher, R., Zelazowski, P., . . . Meir, P. (2009). Exploring the likelihood and mechanism of a climate-change-induced dieback of the Amazon rainforest. National Academy of Science, 20610–20615.

Pearson, S. (2012, May 26). Brazilian vetoes upset rainforest activists. Retrieved from FT.