Deforestation in the Amazon
There are a lot of ecosystems in the world and the forest ecosystem plays an important role in the biosphere. According to the book named Fate of the Forest written by Hecht and Cockburn, all the plant communities, which consist of the whole forest ecosystem, account for about 9.4% of the surface of the Earth and 30% of the total land area. The Amazon rainforest, with the total area of 5,500,000 km2, covers half of the rainforest and is 20% of the forest in the world (137).
It is located in South America and belongs to nine countries, including Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and France. However, as the food and agriculture organization of the United States presented in the State of the World’s Forests 2001, during the ten years between 1991 and 2000, the area of forest in the Amazon lost from 415,000 to 587,000 square kilometers (29).
For the problem of deforestation, the environmentalists would wonder why some groups of people would want to cut down those beautiful trees in the Amazon and why the government supports these actions to some extent and is sometimes involved in deforestation activity. From the environmentalists’ viewpoint, since the Amazon rainforest plays such an important role in the global environment, deforestation should absolutely be forbidden by the laws of those nine countries, where the Amazon rainforest is located. However, the economists hold a different opinion that deforestation can indirectly promote the economic development and benefit people’s lives. Obviously, there is a conflict existing between the two parties. What I will do is to research conservation policies that the Brazil government has issued and then offer my solution to find a trade-off between the environment and the economy.
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... history, causes, effects and solutions for the Amazon rainforest deforestation. Needless to say, the environmental problems of ... crucial elements around them and their delicate ecosystem has been altered. Along with the ... highway into the deepest trenches of the Amazon forest. This action was called the Program ... of the larges industrial powers in the world. Industries such as cotton mills, textiles, ...
To work out the effective solution to solve the conflict between the economic development and the environmental conservation, I assume that the problem of deforestation has developed to be a serious issue which cannot be ignored by the public. In addition, I also assume that the deforestation has been promoting the economic growth of Brazil, Peru, and other countries. However, the environmental problem resulted from the deforestation in the Amazon has truly spread to the whole world, becoming a global environmental issue. My last assumption is that there is a trade-off between environmental protection and economic growth can be worked out. Fortunately, some environmentalists have identified the deforestation issue and appealed to the public to be aware of this issue and to take action to protect the rainforest in the Amazon. Furthermore, the Brazil government has established some policies to restrict the tree cutting in the Amazon, which can reduce the rate of the deforestation.
As is mentioned above, from the economists’ viewpoint, the deforestation has a positive influence on the development of the economy. “According to the National Institute of Spatial Research (INPE), the total area deforested in Brazilian Amazonia increased from 15.2 million hectares in 1978 to 41.5 million hectares in 1990, 58.7 million hectares in 2000, and 60.3 million hectares in 2001” (Margulis 6).
The areas deforested are primarily used by humans, with the purpose of the development of agriculture and cattle ranching activities. According to the book named Causes of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon which was written by Margulis, an important indicator that shows the positive impact of deforestation is that rural incomes have increased. Since the deforestation often happen in the rural areas, this indicator is much more relevant to the deforestation process (15).
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A research study in Margulis’ book shows that the expansion of the cattle ranch in the Amazon has largely resulted in the beef prices dropping in real terms recently. Additionally, it has also promoted the exports of beef and they have increased significantly. Exports increased from less than 500 million US dollars in 1995 to 1 billion US dollars in 2000 and the beef exports represent important foreign exchange earnings. Analysts predict that Brazil has a great possibility to continuously expand its share in the global beef markets (16).
The increase in the export of beef and some other crops lead to a significant rise of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in the rural areas in the Amazon. Mato Grosso is one of the states in the Amazon. The GDP per capita in its rural areas grew from 909 US dollars in 1985 to 1436 US dollars in 1995. This high growth mainly resulted from the expansion of soybean in the cerrado region of the state (Margulis 15).
The land to raise cattle or grow crops was forest before and it was developed by cutting down trees. So in this aspect, the deforestation can benefit people by increasing their income.
Another main reason that has led to the deforestation is an improvement in infrastructure and road development. Based on an article on the Journal of Regional Science, written by Kathryn, named Road Investments, Spatial Spillovers, and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the government started to build roads connecting the Amazon with other parts of Brazil in the early 1960s. Over 16 percent of Brazil’s original forest has disappeared and the current rate of forest loss is about 2 million hectare per year (110).
In the process of economic growth, a developed transportation system can promote the trade between neighboring cities and countries. While the Amazon rainforest accounts for a large amount of area in Brazil, the deforestation is unavoidable in the construction of roads and the development of economy.
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... original Amazon still stands. Experts estimates that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. ... At least 42 million acres of tropical forest are lost each year, an area the size of Washington State. This equals about ... The majority of the remaining forest that can be preserved is found in Russia, Canada and Brazil The most concrete success ...
However, from the environmentalists’ point of view, it is a different story about deforestation in the Amazon. Mentioned in Wilson’s The Future of Life book, the clearing of forests is the most consequential of all forms of habitat destruction. In 1950, old-growth woodland on the Earth covered 50 million square kilometers, or nearly 40 percent the land area. But its cover today is only 34 million square kilometers and is still reducing at a high rate. The impact of loss of forest on biodiversity is automatic and severe. “To reduce the area of a habitat is to lower the number of species that can live sustainably within it”. More precisely, as the area shrinks, the number of species that can live on the remained habitat “falls by the sixth to third root of the original area”. At the fourth root, when a habitat reduces to on tenth its original area, it can only afford about half of the animals and plants (58).
The tropical rainforests can be the headquarters of global biodiversity and the Amazon rainforest is the most representative one among the global tropical rainforests. “Although the Amazon rainforest covers only about 6 percent of the land surface, it contains more than half the species of organisms that have been discovered by scientists. However, “rainforests are also the leading abattoir of extinction, shattered into fragments that are then being severely adulterated or erased one by one” (Wilson 59).
The deforestation in the Amazon is severe and the situation could be even worse. Since some species in the Amazon rainforest are unique and only exist in this place, once their habitat is destroyed, these creatures will face the fate of extinction. The disappearance of these creatures will not only lead to the reduction of the biodiversity, but also result in the loss of some potential values that people could find in the future. Nowadays, people only have limited knowledge about creatures. Lots of creatures probably have medicinal values that could have curative effect on cancer and AIDS. But they have not been discovered yet so far. So if these creatures become extinct because of the deforestation, people would lose those values forever. That is a huge loss to human beings.
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Furthermore, the deforestation can also aggravate the issue of global warming. Industry and other human activities such as deforestation result in more gas carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Houghton pointed out that plant communities, such as forests, play an important role in absorbing the carbon dioxide (7).
The old growth forests can absorb 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year. Once these forests disappear, the carbon which could be absorbed before and originally existed in the soil will be released into the air. Research in Houghton’s book showed that in 2010 and 2011, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the Amazon rainforest was reduced by 1.5 billion tons each year. Because of the loss of plants, the Amazon rainforest will release 5 billion tons of carbon dioxide over the next few years (125).
So the problem of global warming will be intensified if the rate of the deforestation is not restricted.
As an accounting major student, I am accustomed to using the cost and benefit analysis to analyze an issue. If people still keep deforesting at the current rate with the purpose of promoting the economic development, lots of rare creatures will become extinct and the ecological environment will suffer an irreversible destruction. Fortunately, the public has realized the importance to preserve the forest. In 1934, the Brazilian Government established the forest code in order to protect the Amazon rainforest. It also set aside 10% of the Amazon in Brazil to be natural reserve areas to prevent deforestation. These policies have showed some effectiveness in declining the rate of deforestation.
However, if people totally stop clearing any trees, the rate of economic development will be reduced. Take Brazil as an example. Brazil is a developing country and the area of rainforest covers a large percentage of the total area of this country. The government will need to stop paving roads if it wants to preserve the Amazon rainforest thoroughly. In such case, it is so inconvenient for residents to travel. Additionally, it will lead to difficult trade between different cities and countries. The transportation system has a great relationship to the economic development. A developed transportation system can not only motivate the business transaction among different countries, but also helps to introduce some new technologies, which can promote the productivity of this country. If the economy stops developing, it is very hard to elevate the living standards of the people.
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Since the Amazon rainforest is an important component in the global forest ecosystem, deforestation in the Amazon has become an emotional topic among the public. Truly, there is a conflict existing between the environmental conservation and the economic development. A trade-off between the environment and the economy has to be taken into consideration.
The governments of those nine countries should establish appropriate policies to restrict the tree cutting at its current rate. The government can also relieve this issue with taxation. The problem can be solved by taxing deforestation in order to force logging companies to internalize the environmental costs. With the taxation solution, the cost to deforest will increase significantly, pushing the business developer to slow down the rate of clearing. As mentioned before, ranchers present an important role in the deforestation issue as well. A large amount of forests are cleared to be ranches for raising cattle. For the forests which have suffered the deforestation, developed technologies should be introduced to the farmers so as to use the land effectively and sustainably. Farmers should use the limited land to maximize the productivity and the output. Moreover, those nine countries should also focus on looking for some new patterns of economic development to reduce the proportion of industrial enterprise, such as service industry and tourism. In such case, the Amazon rainforest can be reserved and the economy can develop as well. Undeniably, deforestation in the Amazon is a serious problem to the whole world and people should face up to this issue, making efforts to work out the solutions. Our objective is to reach sustainable development while preserving biodiversity. With the cooperation among business, scientists, and government, I am sure that an effective solution can be found by the public to reach a win-win situation.
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Works Cited
Andersen, Lykke E. Dynamics of Deforestation and Economic Growth in the Brazilian Amazon. West Nyack: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Ebrary Academic complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Staff. State of the World’s Forests 2001. Rome: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2001. Ebrary Academic Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
Hecht, Susanna B., and Alexander Cockburn. Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. Ebrary Academic Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
Houghton, J. T. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. Port Chester: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Enrary Academic Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
Kathryn Kirby, et al. “Road Investments, Spatial Spillovers, and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.” Journal of Regional Science 47.1 (2007): 109-123. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. 30 Oct. 2011.
Margulis, Sergio. Causes of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Washington: World Bank Publications, 2003. Ebraray Academic Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.
Wilson, Edward O. The Future of Life. New York: Vintage, 2002. Print.
