Amazon Rainforest Deforestation: Causes, Impacts & Solutions

Introduction: The Scale of Amazon Deforestation

One of the consequences of modernization and industrialization is that certain primeval lands become more desirable for human settlement, agriculture, timber harvesting, and other forms of land development. This has happened throughout history, as primitive tribes and even ancient empires consumed the resources of a given area and then moved on. However, one specific and particularly serious example—one that has affected a vast amount of land, indigenous populations, and perhaps even the health of our planet—is the extreme devastation and deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest.

In just nine years, between 1991 and 2000, the total area of the Amazon Rainforest cleared for ranching alone equaled six times the size of Portugal, or nearly 85% of the state of Texas. Most of this forest has been converted into cattle ranches to increase Brazil's output for a demanding global market and to prop up a lagging economy with high unemployment. Despite the efforts of environmental and political activists and various global initiatives, the devastation continues and may, in both the short and long term, carry serious ramifications (Abell).

Historical Overview and the Trans-Amazonia Highway

Prior to the opening of the Trans-Amazonia Highway in 1972, the Amazon forest was largely inaccessible to outsiders, with the exception of some academic researchers and poachers. The highway was a massive and challenging project, yet it was considered vital for integrating the remote regions of Brazil with neighboring countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. It provided an overland route into the Amazon's interior and enabled heavy equipment and trucks to penetrate areas rich in Brazil's natural resources. Brazil also hoped the highway would increase agricultural production, and made a significant effort to incentivize farmers and agricultural laborers to move into the region (Skole et al.).

In many parts of the Amazon, poor soils made plantation or industrial agriculture relatively unprofitable and therefore undesirable. However, through the use of slash-and-burn clearing techniques, heavy artificial fertilization, and crop rotation, many profitable farms were established. One persistent problem with these soils is that after a few years they must be left fallow to recover. Cattle ranching, by contrast, requires less labor, generates higher profits, and supports grass growth more easily than most food crops. This dynamic also created sociological tensions between small farmers and large cattle operations (Fearnside). One estimate suggests that approximately 30% of Amazonian deforestation originates from small intensive farms, while the remainder comes from medium and large ranchers who control nearly 90% of the land and continually seek to expand their herds (Williams).

Causes of Deforestation

There are numerous direct causes of devastation in the Amazon: cattle ranching, hardwood extraction, housing development, agriculture, modernization, pollution, and industrialization. The annual rate of deforestation continues to increase because there is no coordinated effort that effectively bridges local, national, and international levels of governance (Kirby et al.). Thanks in part to the expansion of small-scale farming, Brazil has become the world's second-largest producer of soybeans after the United States, primarily supplying the export and biodiesel markets. As global demand for biofuels grows, more soybeans must be produced, pushing Brazilian farmers ever further northward into forested areas.

This pressure is exacerbated by Brazilian legislation stipulating that clearing land for crops or pasture constitutes an effective use of land, advancing claims toward land ownership. Cleared land can be worth up to ten times more in resale value than forested land, creating a powerful financial incentive to continue clearing (U.S. Ethanol).

Impact on Climate, Indigenous Cultures, and Biodiversity

Many environmental researchers, using NASA satellite data, have found that converting forest to cropland or ranchland has had a significant effect on the Amazon. Changes in land use and the removal of primary tropical forest alter the region's climate: in deforested areas, land heats up faster and reaches much higher temperatures. This produces localized heat patterns that generate clouds and increased rainfall, while the loss of old-growth tree roots raises the risk of flooding and erosion. The Amazon Rainforest has been compared to the lungs of the Earth, and a reduction in its extent—combined with shifts in microclimates—may contribute to broader global climate change as well (NASA Data).

The tropical rainforests of the Amazon have long been home to numerous indigenous tribes, many of whom have maintained their cultural heritage despite the encroachment of the modern world. As forests are cleared, these peoples lose their lands, homes, and cultures. While they are nominally given the choice of whether to allow their land to be developed, large corporations and government contracts typically override their interests. It is difficult to assign an economic value to the loss of cultural diversity, but there is undeniable value in the knowledge, traditions, and history that disappear once these cultures are assimilated into the mainstream (Butler).

In a similar manner, the destruction of primeval rainforest results in a significant loss of biodiversity in both flora and fauna. Many species can survive only in specific parts of the rainforest—such as the forest canopy—and are ill-equipped to adapt to a hotter, flatter biome. Many modern pharmaceuticals have been derived from rainforest plants, and scientists now believe that the rainforest may also harbor an overwhelming variety of bacteria and microorganisms that are being lost before they can be studied (Deforestation).

References

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"Illegal Loggers Plunder." NRDC. (2011). Web.

"NASA Data Shows Deforestation Affects Climate in the Amazon." NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. (09 June 2004). Web.

"Project Amazonia: Solutions — Mining." (2010). MIT. Web.

"U.S. Ethanol may drive Amazon Deforestation." Mongabay.com. (17 May 2007). Web.

Abell, S., et al. Amazonia. Eugene, OR: University of Oregon Press, 2010.

Butler, R. "Indigenous Peoples Today." Mongabay.com. (9 January 2006). Web.

Fearnside, P. "Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences." Conservation Biology. 19.1 (2005): 680–88.

Kirby, K., et al. "The Future of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon." Futures. 38.4 (2006): 432–53.

Skole, D., et al. "Physical and Human Dimensions of Deforestation in Amazonia." BioScience. 44.5 (1994): 314–22.

Williams, M. Deforesting the Earth: From Prehistory to Global Crisis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

World Bank. Sustainable Land Management: Challenges, Opportunities, and Trade-Offs. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications, 2006.