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Lesson 3 Threats To Rainforest
1. Systems Module Geography Lessons Lesson 3 Threats to rainforest ecosystems. Aim- Why are we chopping down the rainforests and is there an alternative?
2. Amazonian Indians ‘ They have stolen my land; The birds have flown, my people gone. My rainbow rises over sand, My river falls on stone. ’ Song of a Xingu Indian
3. The Yanomani are a group of Amazonian Indians who live in the rainforest. The Yanomani have tried to maintain a traditional, nomadic way of life. Their population currently stands at 9,000. The Yanomani Nomadic means ‘moves from place to place’.
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5. Shifting Cultivation 1 2 Untouched forest The Yanomani clear a small area of forest. They burn the buttress roots which provides ash to increase the fertility of the soil. They leave a few trees standing to intercept the rain.
6. 3 The ‘garden’… The Yanomani plant crops such as manioc and yams and cultivate the area for five to ten years before the soil becomes infertile. ‘ Yanos’ made from wood Shifting Cultivation
7. 4 5 The Yanomani move onto another plot of land. The soil regenerates and the ‘yano’ decays and is eaten by termites. The forest regenerates. The Yanomani have virtually no impact on the rainforest ecosystem. It is a SUSTAINABLE way of life . Shifting Cultivation
8. Yanomani wear few clothes but use paint and beads to decorate their bodies. Yanomani boys are taught to hunt while Yanomani girls are taught to grow crops and cook. Yanomani facts! Yanomani children work (hunt, learn about crop rotation) for 4 hours per day. In their spare time they enjoy activities such as swimming and dancing. The Yanomani use plants with medicinal properties found in the rainforest. Quinine was discovered in the Amazon. It is an anti- malaria drug from the bark of the cinchona tree (and also an ingredient in tonic water!).
9. TASK 1 - Compare your lifestyle with the Yanomani. Think of similarities as well as differences. Click here Yanomani Lifestyle Clothes Food School Family Yanomani lifestyle My Lifestyle
18. Tucurui Dam Tucurui Dam was built between 1976 and 1984, on the Lower Tocantins River in the state of Para, approximately 300km south of Belem. The reservoir created upstream of the dam is over 2000km 2 . The dam will produce more than 4000 MW of electricity.
19. Tucurui Dam Amazonian Indian villages HEP plant Road flooded an area 5 times the size of the Isle of Wight Before Tucurui Dam After Tucurui Dam Tucurui Dam – cost $5 billion Describe the dam’s impact on the landscape. River Tocantins
20. The dam has stopped silt travelling downstream. This silt is a natural fertiliser. We will have to buy chemical fertilisers or clear more forest. The flooding displaced thousands of us living by the river. Moreover, chemicals used to defoliate the vegetation before flooding have contaminated the water and caused illness. This electricity will be used to power the mines at Carajas and the smelting industries at Belem. These industries will provide jobs. The dam has stopped the migration of fish up and downstream. TASK 2 - Who gained and who lost out from its construction? Click here to go to word Tucurui Match the statement with the correct person Carajas Farmer Fishermen Amazonian Indian Miner
21. Then the water in the lake and what the lake releases, Is crawling with infected snails and water born diseases. There’s a hideous locust breeding ground when the water level’s low… by K E Boulding The cost of building dams…
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23. Broken Nutrient cycle Deforestation Fewer leaves fall Less decomposition (breaking down) of litter by termites, fungi and bacteria Less nutrients enter the soil Soil becomes infertile Less vegetation
24. What impact does road building have on the Amazon’s ecosystem? TASK 3 - Organise these statements into the flow chart below. There is more than one correct order. Click here there is no vegetation to intercept the rain the soil is washed away the nutrient cycle is broken and so the soil becomes infertile it is difficult to grow crops the area become more accessible other large scale developments such as mining come to the area more trees are cut down people migrate to the area the area become more accessible trees are cut down road is built
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27. Brazilian government Fact File Capital – Brazilia Population – 162 million GNP per capita – $3,370 Debt – $1,153 million Literacy – 80% Tourism – over 1 million visitors per year ‘ The income gap between the richest and the poorest in Brazil is getting wider. The shanty towns in our large cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo are expanding and their residents lack basic facilities such as electricity and clean water. Our interest on the debt is growing each year and we need to invest in our industries if we are to ever pay back this money. Developing the Amazon can generate some of this necessary investment.’
28. FUNAI (Fundaao Nacional do Indio) ‘ FUNAI is the government agency set up to protect the rights of the Amazonian Indians. We believe that most large scale developments have a negative impact on the Amazon’s ecosystem and in turn, on the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Amazonian Indians. For example, approximately 6,000 Indians were left landless by the Grand Carajas Project, especially by the Tucurui dam. We would like to see more sustainable developments such as in the Xingu Indian Park where Kayapo villages have entered into a partnership with the Body Shop. The Kayapo collect Brazil nuts and extract the oil in their villages by using a press. They then sell this oil directly to the Body Shop for use in toiletries. In order to protect the Amazonian Indians’ rights to the land, we want further areas of the rainforest set up as Indian reserves.’
29. Hydroelet ‘ HEP is a renewable form of energy. This means that unlike coal, oil and gas this type of energy does not run out. Brazil gets 92.5% of its energy from HEP and the demand for energy is rising. Hydroelet plans to build more dams, like Tucurui, in the Amazon to harness the fast flowing rivers in this area. Hydroelet believes that this electricity will not only benefit industries all over Brazil but will also provide energy to satisfy the country’s growing population.’
30. World Medical Organisation Quinine was discovered in The Amazon. It is an anti- malaria drug from the bark of the cinchona tree (and also an ingredient in tonic water!). How can the Brazilian Government and the Amazonian Indians benefit from the discoveries? ‘ Only 1,100 species have been investigated out of 365,000 possible species in the Amazon. On average, an important new drug has been found for every 125 species investigated. We believe that areas should be set aside for medical research.’ ‘ Catclaw Acacia’ is a climbing vine, found in the Amazon, and it is being studied for its potential against cancer and AIDs. Internet Link – biodiversity http://library.thinkquest.org/20248/
31. Greentours – ecotourism in the Amazon Internet Link – ecotourism www.brazilianadventure.com www.brazilnature.com/inges/index.html ‘ At Greentours, visitors stay in an Amazonian village or in the small lodges which are built from local resources. The visitors can undertake conservation work as part of their holiday. Greentours feel that unlike the large scale developments, their tours will generate money for the Amazonian Indians without destroying the Amazon’s ecosystem.’ Ecotourism is sustainable, low density tourism which safeguards the natural environment and meets the needs of the host population.
33. What are the sustainable alternatives to large scale development? Internet links – www.ran.org/ www.greenforce.org / www.greenpeace.org / SUSTAINABLE development involves activities that preserve and enhance the beauty and resources of an area for future generations. Name one activity in the Amazon that is ‘sustainable’. Investigate – How can the Brazilian government profit from the Amazon without large scale development?
