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Running head: DEFORESTATION IN THE AMAZON

Deforestation in the Amazon

Vanessa Corrales

Arizona State University

Kandice Kardell
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Abstract
Deforestation is a negative impact on the environment. Workers cut down trees and/or go to find

natural resources like gold, land, and many other sources. The animals are harmed because their

homes are destroyed. Then climate change causes global warming, forest fires, and releasing

gasses into the atmosphere. The Dangers in the Amazon included Climate change, Soil erosion,

Global Warming, loss in the number of Biodiversity, and displacement of Indigenous

communities and their traditional way of life. There are many solutions and alternatives to

decrease the number of trees and animals being killed/ damaged in the Amazon.

Keywords: Deforestation, damages, the Brazilian government

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Deforestation In the Amazon

Deforestation is one of many destructive and controversial environmental issues.

Deforestation is the removal of trees to be used for non-forest use. A study has shown that about

17% of the Amazon rainforest has been lost due to deforestation (Pfaff, 2015). There are

solutions to reduce the number of trees being cut down, animals being killed, and damages

affecting the Amazon. Many are not aware of deforestation because the resources from the forest

are used and provided for families. Deforestation is a problem in the Amazon because of climate

change, soil erosion, global warming, loss in the biodiversity, displacement of Indigenous

communities, all affecting the environment of the area (Henderson, 1993). There have been

people trying the reinforce economic inequalities based on land that has an impact on the

ecosystem. The government has no reason to change anything in the Amazon due to needed

resources. There are many different programs that have tried making a difference in the Amazon.

One of these programs is REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation) they have made a significant difference with alternatives by finding other ways to

cut less down out of the Amazon. Although the Brazilian government knows the threats that

come along with global environmental issues such as pollution, overpopulation, and resource

from deforestation, and they are aware of the political, social, economic issues that follow, they

neglect to act.

Most of the world today are not aware of how the Brazilian government fails to act

towards deforestation is in the Amazon and only making it worst. The Amazon needs to be

protected from being destroyed more than it already is. For example, because of the extreme

hunting in the Amazon, certain animals are becoming instinct. In the United States, there are

many animals people are not even aware that they exist and don’t know they are going instinct
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(Constantino, 2016). However, the people who live in the area such as Indigenous rely on the

agriculture in the Amazon that translates to carbon emission. This then leads to the Brazilian

government buying it from them and the Indigenous make the off the resources given from the

Amazon as well as the government. If the government would buy less from Indigenous the

carbon emission prices start to go up trying to find different alternatives. There is this program

REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) that has been trying to

find better ways to get resources to use in an attempt to get the Brazilian government to pay

attention to the damage they are continuously causing. REDD+ are trying to find alternatives and

give special attention to income generation, food security, social security, and legal and political

legitimacy (Bottazzi, 2014). The alternative for carbon emission would be byproducts with high

energy value and biodiesel. These alternatives may cost more, they will be better for the

environment in the long run.

Moreover, since there is so much carbon emission in the air due to the constant change in

the Amazon one of its leading causes is global warming. Not only does global warming have an

effect on people, but it is harmful to animals as well. It is hard for most species to adapt and to

keep up with climate change of the water and temperature. Since there aren’t as many trees for

the creatures to have shelter during the day, the beaming of the sun can make it extremely hot.

Then at night, the leaves hold in the extra heat from the day to protect wildlife from freezing

temperatures. Feely states, Deforestation may altogether eliminate any potential forest migration

corridors connecting current ranges to their future climate analogs, effectively resulting in the

creation of ‘disappearing climates’ (2012). It’s very difficult for these animals to adjust to

climate change. Making a great loss in the number of biodiversities. Killing rare animals that

have not yet to be discovered and making animals going extinct. Many don’t see any change in
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the environment and don’t see how it’s affecting them. According to Badger, replacing natural

vegetation with realistic tropical crops over the Amazon region in a global Earth system model

impacts vertical transport of heat and moisture, modifying the interaction between the

atmospheric boundary layer and the air in the atmosphere (2016). This will help replace bad soil

in the ground that was dried up from too much heat. The drought that is happening in the

Amazon has influence the recent precipitation extremes in the Amazon (Bagley,2014). To add,

climate change interrupts the water cycle causing soil erosion in the Amazon. Taking out all the

moisture) in the ground leaving the trees dry. When the trees get dry it is easier for forest fires to

happen. When the soil is exposed to rainwater is harder for it to absorb and then the nutrients and

other organic materials in the soil that make it fertile will wash out. This then leads to flooding

into lower regions like coastal fisheries and coral reefs suffer from sedimentation (Lejeune,

2014). The REDD+ has been trying to help reduce emissions from deforestation which helps

global warming. One of these factors are gasses being released into the atmosphere. The carbon

effects farmers, decreasing their basic crop production, which makes a significant drop in income

and food security (Bottazi, 2014). If there are other programs and people that are helping to keep

the Amazon as good as possible, the Brazilian government should be able to help lessen

deforestation. The government has more power and better resources to put a stop in deforestation

in the Amazon. Along with that Congress can agree to laws that help protect the Amazon. This

will at least help decrease the amount of deforestation that is being lost.

Since deforestation begins in the early 1960s, the Amazon has the highest absolute rate in

the world. About 7000,000km of the forest has been deforested in 2000 and increased by 2,000

by 2008 (Bouchardet, 2016). In the forest, farmers or miners can get natural resources like

bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, and diamonds they need to clear out the forest to be able to
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mine. Thus, creating jobs make a living from these resources and saving everything and finding a

way to sell to those that are interested in these resources. The government isn’t taking any action

on how they find their way around to getting these resources as long as they are getting income

out of it. Deforestation has influenced the factor of gross domestic product (GDP) to get out of

debt by selling parts from the deforested Amazon (Bouchardet, 2016). Many environmentalists

have tried to give the U.S other options for logging, agriculture and other cattle companies,

however many farmers work around the area of the Amazon to still get the resources they need.

Many of these famers will only go to the Amazon for these resources instead of finding

alternatives. Then there are hunters that are finding different ways around the way of the law to

hunt. They do this, so they can provide for their family and make more income to sell to

consumers as well as anyone else that is willing to buy from them. The ways they get around

using secret roads, basically going off-roading to continue to hunt (Jusys, 2018). These roads can

be very dangerous, and the people are not protected if something bad happens. There are not any

laws that still protects these hunters when they go off these secret roads (Zia, 2018). According

to Jusys, “The National Protected Areas System defines and regulates protected area categories

at federal, state, and municipal levels, diving them into two types: strictly protected, which

prohibits resources use and often access except for tourism and scientific research...” (2018). To

explain, they only protect the areas that they think are more important than protecting the

Amazon rainforest. With the unprotected areas, there are no boundaries, or any prohibit laws

protecting these areas. This leads to more damages being done there than in the areas where the

roads are protected. There are different divisions that are motivated by the preventing and control

deforestation this plan lowers the demand for agricultural commodities, voluntary agreements by

meatpacking companies (Jusys, 2018). The program REDD+ is one of many divisions that has
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made an impact on controlling the demands for agricultural demands (Pandit, 2017). This

program has made more progress than the Brazilian government. A contributing factor that

should help control these out of control deforestation demands should be the Brazilian

government. For instance, they should put more effort into finding alternative resources and start

planting trees closer to home. So, it is easier to replant and have more control of agriculture and

keep hunters from going off roading.

In the Amazon, the culture of Indigenous takes shelter in the near the Amazon forest

which involves them using the natural resources around them. The whole culture is based on the

Amazon producing for them and their families. The Brazilian government and other corporations

overlook their culture and take over their land as well as their traditions. In Terrazas his studies

have proven major public health problems in malaria (non-indigenous or indigenous depending

from certain villages) in the State of Amazons (2015). According to Silva, the tropical lizard is at

risk of going instinct due to variation of reason like the Indigenous eating them as well as climate

change (2018). The reason for this is being environmental factors in the Amazon such as forest

cover, draining, rainfall, and poverty. The indigenous population is vulnerable to many diseases

and disorders. Most of these people do not get better or end up relapsing. For this reason, they

should be provided with healthcare to get better even if it doesn’t go with their tradition. It is a

way for the government to be helping instead of using them to get to the Amazon. If the

government has tried helping them because their traditional ways of living are different the

Indigenous can help introduce them to a better way of using the natural resources provided close

to home instead of selling and cutting through the Amazon to get timber (Pfaff, 2015). When

other people found reinforcement, they started developing policies then took over the

Indigenous, so they started losing resources, medical attention, and many other stabilities. The
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highest rate of deforestation was between 2003 and 2012, then deforestation affected the

influence of the watercourses (Terrazas, 2015). This leads to a decrease of natural ways for

Indigenous to continue living in their natural cultural. Over the years the rate of deforestation in

the Amazons has not yet decreased. Still leaving the people with undrinkable water, poverty, and

forest coverage (Silva, 2018). The government has been taking over their land not letting them

continue their cultural traditions. Indigenous may use the Amazon for resources as well, but they

are not destroying it as bad as the Brazilian government. To add, the Indigenous replant crops,

use their own cattle to provide for their families. They use the water stream to bath and wash

their clothes. Since there have been many droughts in the Amazon, the Indigenous have been

affected. Then to only have limitation to the Amazon.

Furthermore, the government has been cutting down more of the Amazon to make room

for more people to live. There has been an increase in population. So, there has been more tree

cutting to make more room for new homes and businesses. These new businesses also use

deforestation to make a living to be able to provide for their families just like everyone else.

With clear cutting biodiversity will disappear, so it will be harder to find resources with less of

the forest (Nerpstad, 2006). Overpopulation will also lead to improper disposal and water

quality will change significantly. Overall, the quality of the living space will be poorer than it

should be. It becomes more difficult every year to prevent overpopulation and stop deforestation

to make more room for all these people. This is what leads to more deforestation to produce

more crops turning the forest into large fields. Not only more housing and settlements but more

roads and highways are needed. To add, according to Medivgy it leads to enchanting greenhouse

effects (carbon emission) since there are more people driving and not enough plants to aboard

the emission that causes more pollution in the air (2013). This makes it deadly to breathe without
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natural oxygen coming from the trees. This then causes old diseases to emerge and new ones are

introduction becoming out of control. For this reason, it is important to be buying from

sustainable companies that work against deforestation. According to Henderson, A strong

theoretical argument can be made that leaders try to deal with overpopulation through coercive

means. A burdensome population can create anxiety in society over whether or not economy and

government can meet the needs and wants of large numbers of people that are increasing (1993).

To help stop deforestation and still satisfy the needs of what the people desire, they need to start

buying from better resources rather than those from companies that go against many laws by

killing more of the plant and animals, simply to make a few extra bucks. is to start buying from

better resources. It is equally important to use renewable wood like charcoal, which is a great

alternative than carbon emission. Recycling as much as possible will lessen deforestation.

In conclusion, since the Amazon has lost 17% of the rainforest already no more should be

lost. Moreover, with the many problems that come with deforestation, there needs to be an end to

it. There are many alternatives that can be used which the government has taken into

consideration but does not want to use any of to save money and other resources. Overpopulation

will continue to intensify if there are not some better government officials to take the extra step

to help prevent deforestation. Along with finding alternatives to getting natural resources for the

people’s needs. To add, there are more laws that can be passed so there will be less deforestation

as well as less unprotected roads, so hunters and other people can’t access through the Amazon.

So, these animals can stay safe. There are other resources farmers, hunters, and other people can

use to save as much and as possible (Lopez-Carr, 2018). The REDD+ has found alternatives to

carbon emissions being used and sold. A policy should prohibit the buying or selling of illegal

from less-managed companies. If deforestation continues then the will be no more resources left,
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the atmosphere will continue to have more major problems, and the population will keep

growing, leaving fewer natural resources for the Indigenous to use for their cultural needs.

Therefore, there needs to be a political stance of what needs to be done before matters get any

worse.
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