1. Deforestation in the Amazon Economic and social forces are battling over the future of the Amazonian rainforest
What are the Effects? and the left-leaning government of Brazil is struggling to balance a desire for
"sustainable development" with domestic and international demands for economic
growth. But what does this really mean for the people of Brazil?
Read through the information presented on this
page. You should use four colours when reading Once you’ve read all Politically, there are international disagreements on how the Amazon should be
used – most countries are putting pressure on Brazil to conserve all of the
the information presented to pick out some
specific information:
the statements, remaining forest and not ‘exploit’ it to make money (from wooden exports and the
In ______ highlight the social effects of
deforestation of the Amazon
attempt the tasks land). Some people, particularly Brazilian businesses, however, are putting
pressure on their own government to let them use the rainforest resources to make
In ______ highlight the economic effects of and challenges on money. Their main argument for this is that the money produced can be used to
deforestation of the Amazon
In ______ highlight the environmental effects of the right of this help develop the country in other areas – not just the economy – improving
education, health care and the general standard of living for the people of Brazil.
deforestation of the Amazon
In ______ highlight the political effects of
page… There are also political disputes over who owns some of the land – indigenous
deforestation of the Amazon tribes, businesses or the Brazilian government themselves.
When Europeans arrived to the north east of Brazil about 500 years ago, there were
Write a report for the Prime Minister of Brazil on the Problems
about 6 million of my people subsisting off the Amazon rainforest. Today, our numbers associated with the Amazon. You should aim to specifically discuss the
are about 200,000 and decreasing every year. Not only is this because we are social, economic, environmental and political problems associated with
losing our natural homes and environment within which we are used to living, we are exploitation of the Tropical Rainforest. Can you suggest any
solutions for the Prime Minister to consider?
also losing our traditional culture and way of life. Young people in the tribes also
don’t want to identify with their traditional culture anymore and, instead, go to seek ____________________________________________________________________
their fortune in the big cities and towns such as Belem. ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
My people still live in the Amazon, but some other tribes such as the Kayapo have ____________________________________________________________________
been forced to live on reservations. Some of these don’t have good living conditions ____________________________________________________________________
and, in previous decades, the spread of diseases amongst such people has been ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
devastating.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Can you remember how bio-diverse the rainforest is? Over half of ____________________________________________________________________
the plants known species are found in tropical rainforests – with ____________________________________________________________________
10km² of rainforest containing as many as 1500 species of flowering ____________________________________________________________________
plant, 750 species of tree, 400 species of bird, 150 varieties of ____________________________________________________________________
butterfly, 100 different reptiles & 60 different amphibians. Many ____________________________________________________________________
species still have to be identified and discovered – 99% of the world’s ____________________________________________________________________
insects live here! Deforestation has obviously destroyed the habitats ____________________________________________________________________
of many of these species. However, have you thought about the
value that some of these species might hold? We already get over
____________________________________________________________________
half of our medicines from discoveries made in the tropical ____________________________________________________________________
rainforest – one of these recently found, derived from a periwinkle, ____________________________________________________________________
has reduced deaths from child leukaemia from 80% to approximately ____________________________________________________________________
20%. Yet if we continue to cut down the rainforest, what might ____________________________________________________________________
happen to some of the as-yet undiscovered chemicals and medicines ____________________________________________________________________
that are still waiting to be ‘found’? ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
We know that forestry companies cut paths and ____________________________________________________________________
build roads to access deforestation sites – but the ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
machines are not the only ones migrating to the
____________________________________________________________________
Amazon rainforest – people are too. Logging ____________________________________________________________________
companies are opening the way for migrant ____________________________________________________________________
settlers in the forest. Settlers then clear land for ____________________________________________________________________
agriculture – usually by burning – and intensive Possible improvements: ________________________________________________
‘slash and burn’ quickly makes the soil infertile. ____________________________________________________________________
These new settlers also bring differences in culture ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
to the area – and this can lead to social conflict
____________________________________________________________________
and political disputes with the indigenous tribes.