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Across Brasi, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname one million square kilometers of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed since 1978

At first deforestation was a product of subsistence farmers who cut down trees to produce crops for local and own consumption. However, now deforestation is an effect of industrial activities and large scale agriculture.

Deforestation quickly escalated and vast areas of rain forests were cleared to build/create cattle pasture, dams, soy farm and to dig up minerals

There are many ares a that experience deforestation while others have decreased it due to many factors like law enforcement, satellite monitoring macroeconomic trends, new protected areas, pressure from environmentalists and new iniciatives.

Economic Incentives are alo important so that standing forests are more valuable than clearing it for pasture, crops or land speculation .

Between 2004-2005 there was a drop in deforestation. Then in 2012 it started increasing for unknown causes and finally, in2016 Bolsonaro dismantelung protections for the Amazon causing deforestation to reach peak levels.

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Carbon Count, Emissions, and Environmental Degradation

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Carbon Count, Emissions, and Environmental Degradation

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- More than 142% of carbon molecules found in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution
- Slash and burn cultivation clears out more that 1 million acres of rainforest per year.
- Slash and burn not only removes living trees, but also the forest floor that contains all the roots.
- Due to the remaining poor soil conditions, the land is left alone after short time use.
- Land is abused and worn out.
- Practiced in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Central Africa.
- When such big amounts of rainforest are cleared, it leaves more than 100 animal species vulnerable and endangered.

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- This sector is largely fueled by the demand for palm oil --> many sectors destroy rainforest in order to make space for palm oil production and crop fields.
- Cheap and effective, doesn't require heavy or big machinery
- Fire kills diseases in crops as well as ashes, which also provide nutrients for the soil.
- Fueled by cost effective techniques and high economic profit.

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"Air pollution from carbon emissions released by cut trees can exceed more than two tons per acre – more than 48 pounds per tree, increasing our carbon emission footprint by more than six percent." (Lin, 2017)
- Deforestation and desertification --> killed thousands of species --> mass extinctions
- Ash damages air quality which is bad for our health and those of older ages as well as those that have respiratory diseases.
- Ash gets into water ecosystems and pollutes water

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- Very hard to eliminate completely but easy to find coexisting alternatives.
- "Terracing hills and mountains can make more room for crop fields, especially in the rolling plains of Southeast Asia where terracing is already a common practice" (Lin, 2017)
- "By preserving terrain soil by growing nitrogen fixated plants along with diverse crops and raising livestock in the process of crop rotation, farmers are able to benefit by reusing the land and yielding more, increasing income and sustaining soil quality." (Lin, 2017)
- " a tax should be passed on the export and import of palm oil to lower the demand and encourage others to find eco-friendly alternatives." (Lin, 2017)

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Lin, C. (2019, October 15). 'Slash-And-Burn Agriculture' Is Exactly As Bad As It Sounds. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/slash-burn-agriculture-bad-rainforest-global-warming

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Deforestation Trends in Amazon Countries

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Deforestation Trends in Amazon Countries

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Brasil- the decline in deforestation has started to rise again.

Peru - trending upward in the past decade

Colombia - Flat

Bolivia - constantly increasing  spiking in 2008 and 2010

Ecuador- increase between 2001 and 2012 due to oil drilling in Yasuni National Park.

Venezuela - flat since 2000

The Guianas - increased in recent years

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Cattle Ranchin - lead cause

Small- Scale Agricukture (subsistence and commercial)

Fires (degradation not deforestation)

Agriculture (large-scale industrial agriculture)

Commercial agriculture (soy, rice, corn & sugar cane) - encourages land modification

Logging (degradation not deforestation) - illegal due to strict lisencing, linked to rad building

Other (mining, oil and gas development, dams, road construction, urbanization)

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Butler, R. A. (2021, November 22). Deforestation in the Amazon. Mongabay. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html