The Amazon rainforests, which are also called the “lungs of the planet,” produce 20% of the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. This region includes vast territories that belong to several countries. Amazon rainforests have exceptional biological biodiversity since one in ten world-famous species lives in the Amazon rainforests, which makes this collection of living plants and animals the largest in the world. Moreover, these forests play a significant role in saving the planet from global warming. Nevertheless, there is a critical problem that needs immediate action since the area is constantly shrinking because of the Brazilian economy. Everything comes to the fact that now the Amazon rainforest needs salvation. The purpose of this research is to analyze the background of the problem, arguments from both sides of the debate, as well as to propose a beneficial solution.
Background
In the 1980s and 1990s, Amazon’s forest area began to decline gradually as farmers, miners, and loggers cleared land to grow crops, raise livestock, or sell timber. It was a way to make money in a region with high unemployment, enormous poverty, and a small state presence. Fortunately, during the 1980s, the environmental protection laws in Brazil started to appear and develop. Similar to legislation in other countries, the main idea of such initiatives was that those who threaten the environment should be held to account. During this time, licensing systems, fines, legal guidelines, and other tools have all been implemented and improved over the years.
Up until the beginning of the 21st century, Brazil became a prime example of how sustainable development can effectively coexist with economic growth. For example, Brazil was one of the first countries to implement a new approach to the protection of nature, such as the Amazon Fund. It is a mechanism that was created in 2008 in order to collect donations from the international community for forest conservation. According to researchers, “an 80% decline in deforestation from 2005 to 2014 coincided with 3.5% average annual economic growth and a 56% total increase in national agricultural production” (Unterstell 2019, para. 3). Such a result occurred since industries that for a long time caused deforestation have changed their methods of conducting business by implementing new policies and technology. Moreover, new legislation for controlling and punishing violators was also effective.
Nevertheless, the situation was about to change when the new President Bolsonaro took office. It is argued that because of him, the criminal activity under the name of land grabbing increased rapidly. In other words, criminal organizations took control over public land, and conduct their business operations by cutting forests and applying for government aid. Another reason that led to further deforestation is the governmental decision to put the safety of all National Parks in Brazil under the question. Therefore, the fate of a number of natural areas, including the Itatiaia National Park, the Ararinha Azul Wildlife Refuge, and the other 334 territories is yet to be decided (Unterstell 2019). The land is exploited by local businessmen by means of different illegal methods, including mining, exploding land, burning, and cutting trees; however, their practices also involved threatening indigenous communities. All these events indicate a drastic transformation of Brazil’s environmental policies, which led to the huge loss of the Amazon forest.
Why Is It Important?
There are a number of reasons why deforestation should be controlled. First of all, the tropical rainforests of the Amazon are the largest in the world. They produce oxygen not only for Latin America but for the entire planet. One of the most tragic ecological disasters on Earth is also associated with Amazonia; due to deforestation caused solely by human activities, more than 20% of Amazonian forests are irretrievably lost. The Amazonian forests serve as giant storage of carbon dioxide and affect the climate in the region and the entire planet. The death of trees because of cutting and fires contributes to the simultaneous spread of a huge amount of this gas, which leads to an increase in world temperature and a change in the global climate. Unfortunately, agricultural farms and enterprises negatively influence these territories. Their owners and workers destroy the unique flora and fauna and the habitat of Native American communities that have lived there for thousands of years.
This is a vast region of moist tropical evergreen broadleaf forests, located on a vast, almost flat and plain land covering almost the entire Amazon basin. The forest itself occupies covers the territory of nine states: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana. The main reason for deforestation is a local business; in recent years, the trees have been cut down for soybean cultivation, most of which is used for feeding cattle. The Brazilian economy has traditionally focused on the export of natural resources, including oil, grain, vegetables, fruits, and meat.
The constant Forest destruction inevitably leads to a decrease in the stability of the biosphere and an increase of floods, mudflows, water erosion, dust storms, devastating droughts, and dry winds. In addition, the irreversible process of desertification also accelerates, which can later make the land unusable. Researchers note that in case “if all the planned roads were built, at least 2.4 million hectares of Amazon forest would be cleared in the next 20 years” (Moloney 2020, para. 9). If this were to happen, Brazil would be considered as the country with the highest rates of deforestation, Violation of the ecological balance and deforestation causes damage not only to plants and animals but also to humans. About 300,000 Native Americans who remained in the Amazonian region of Brazil still coexist in this deteriorating environment. They are becoming more and more worried about lumberjacks, gold miners, and others, many of whom consider the Indigenous people to be a hindrance to business development.
At the same time, the Amazon rainforest is considered to be the largest ecosystem of its kind. In this place, a fifth of the freshwater reserves on Earth is concentrated. The forest plays a significant role in absorbing carbon dioxide and keeping the global temperature from rising. For this reason, preserving it seems to be an important task for policymakers. Therefore, many world leaders and environmentalists began to consider Amazon as a valuable World Heritage Site that is in need of diligent protection.
There are many activists that tried to stop deforestation. According to researchers, they have a number of various reasons, including protecting indigenous groups, preserving the forest’s unique biodiversity that has about “a tenth of the world’s plants and species, including many yet undiscovered” (Vanham 2018, para. 5). Moreover, scientists emphasize that the process of deforestation is close to the point of no return. The territory may soon turn into a dry savannah and lose a key role in climate regulation. About 20% of it has already been destroyed, and irreversible processes may begin after cutting down 25% of the forest area.
Nevertheless, the reason why people are reluctant to preserve the forest is simple since businessmen want to use more land for the farmers. Citizens of Brazil are especially unwilling to implement any measures since they consider the deforestation an unimportant problem. For this reason, Bolsonaro was elected as the President as he promised to change environmental laws in favor of business development.
The Argument for Further Deforestation
Deforestation during the reign of Bolsonaro is not surprising; after all, it is the fulfillment of the campaign promises. He was the first president in the history of Brazil with obvious anti-environmental speeches. Then Bolsonaro promised that his government would focus on rebuilding the Brazilian economy. In particular, he wanted to consider ways to study the economic potential of the Amazon. Therefore, people strongly support President Bolsonaro’s policies regarding Amazon. His policies prioritize economic development rather than environmental protection. Moreover, Brazilians claim that fires and deforestation are necessary for small farmers and large ranches exporting beef and soybeans to do business. Furthermore, they consider the damage they do to the world’s largest rainforests is quite modest. In addition, local residents are outraged by outsiders that are trying to resolve this problem. The environmental activists are considered to be colonialists who, by such actions, are trying to decide how Brazilians should manage their own land.
Even though from the global perspective, the international cooperation for preserving the Amazon may seem well-meaning and genuine, it makes Brazil citizens worry about their national security. This opinion is also powered by the government propaganda that enforces the idea that wealthier foreigners want to strip Brazil of their power over the Amazon. For example, Bolsonaro and his allies claimed that “efforts to inhibit Amazonian deforestation masked more sinister geopolitical strategies, including a European plot to limit imports of cheap Brazilian agricultural goods” (Hecht 2020, p. 62). Such ideas only increase the resistance of the population and make them resist all the attempts to stop deforestation.
A researcher under the name of Frances Seymour also notes that it is highly possible that conserving the rainforest may have a negative impact. He explains it by pointing out that for the Brazilian economy, it generates more economic value while also taking many resources for saving it (Irfan 2019, para. 35). After all, since citizens are concerned with economic problems, which also create issues with the rise of criminal activities, preserving forests may seem like an unnecessary measure. Methods to save the environment often run contrary to economic development; however, this notion can be disputed. For example, the loss of natural resources can have a negative impact not only on the environment bit for the f=government as well, since it reduces a source of tax revenue.
Solution
Nevertheless, there is some hope that most Brazilians are in favor of preserving the Amazon rainforests. However, despite the fact that dozens of eco-activists and forest advocates are put at risk for stopping deforestation, Brazilians are more worried about economic stagnation and crime. They refuse to understand that protecting rainforests is a global principle. International pressure to preserve the forests can have unpleasant consequences and make the country even more resistant. It raises concerns among the populations that rich countries want the rainforests to remain intact in order to impede Brazil’s economic growth and appropriate its wealth.
Since Bolsonaro has already made it clear that no one but Brazil is concerned about the forests, international activists should be careful. Condemning the new government’s policies for businesses to preserve biodiversity may not be productive. Instead, environmentalists, including politicians who care about the environment, should work through European political institutions. For instance, Europeans can put severe pressure on Brazil in the form of a refusal to conduct trade with them until a compromise is reached. For example, beef or soybeans grown on illegally harvested lands should not be imported into Europe and other countries that have business with Brazil.
Furthermore, agriculture has long been the backbone of the Brazilian economy. For this reason, losing a huge part of the land seems like a loss for the business. The Brazilian economy mostly relies on selling different types of resources. However, this method of conducting business does not seem like a sustainable strategy since it relies on unrecoverable resources. Nevertheless, researchers believe that “consumers of agricultural products in global markets may be more likely to demand a product that is produced sustainably, putting pressure on producers to do their part” (Vanham 2018, para. 3). In other words, the global economy can make the satiation better by implementing rules that the Brazilian business would have to follow.
In order to help address the causes of deforestation and improve the livelihoods of the population, there are some measures that can be implemented. For example, the government should pay attention to the economic and social problems of regions affected by poverty. Another strategy is planting more trees in previously cut areas. However, the most important and effective method would be combating the most apparent injustice of Brazilian society, which is the real cause of human poverty and deforestation. Researchers believe that “economic and political pressure from other countries can certainly help build the case for preserving the rainforest, but the most meaningful measures to protect the Brazilian Amazon will have to come from Brazil’s leaders” (Irfan 2019, para. 16). The fact that in past Brazil managed to implement measures for saving the environment indicates that there is a high possibility that the new President may reverse the process.
In conclusion, it would appear that in order to prevent deforestation and stop it from becoming a big catastrophe for the entire world, it is necessary to create a whole range of strategies. They should obviously be aimed at restoring ecological balance and reviving extinct species of plants and animals. The most promising include increased productivity and rational use of the existing land. That would diminish the need to get rid of the trees for using new land. Moreover, sites, where the forest is still partially preserved, should be restored to their original condition. In addition, the number of areas under the protection of the state should also be expanded. Even though for the short-term, it may be harmful to small businesses that rely on agriculture; however, in the long run preserving the environment is the key to sustainable development.
Reference List
Hecht, S., 2020. ‘Why the Brazilian Amazon Burns’, Current History, 119 (814), pp. 60-65.
Irfan, U., 2019, Why it’s been so lucrative to destroy the Amazon rainforest, Web.
Moloney, A., 2020. Planned Amazon roads could harm economies not just forests, researchers warn. Web.
Vanham, P., 2018. What the Amazon rainforest tells us about globalization. Web.
Unterstell, N., Brazil Doesn’t Have to Choose Between the Environment and the Economy, Web.