6.4.2 Brazil Case Study
Completion requirements
6.4.2 Brazil Case Study
How does globalization affect the environment?
Case Study: Rond么nia, Brazil
Poverty Reduction in the rainforest: In the 1980s, the government of Brazil recognized the great poverty in the country and decided to do something about it. The Polonoroeste Project in Rond么nia, Brazil, was established to open a large
area of the rainforest to human development. The original project called for a large, decentralized community of self-reliant pioneer farmers stretched along a central highway. It was funded by the government of Brazil and the
World Bank who contributed over $500 billion.
Goals:
Goals:
-
to promote the occupation of northeastern Brazil
-
to reduce inequalities among people
-
to provide employment to economically marginalized people
-
to increase the region's production and revenue
- to ensure growth in harmony with nature and the protection of Indigenous communities
Methods:
- Over 500 000 migrants from other parts of Brazil were given plots of land.
-
A large highway was built through the rainforest, increasing access to the land and improving opportunities for the movement of goods.
-
The settlers used slash and burn techniques to clear the land, then planted manioc, beans, and rice that have quick yields.
-
Although high yield crops were initially successful, they failed as soon as the soil was depleted. The settlers moved on to deforest more areas and the cleared lands were used by ranchers who also moved on after the land was found to be unsuitable for
livestock.
The value of the Amazon Rainforest
- Biodiversity: The Amazon is the largest and most diverse ecosystem in the world. It is home to more than half the world's rainforest. It supports millions of species of plants, animals, and insects. Plants from the rainforest are used to
produce pharmaceutical drugs; more plant species are currently being studied for future benefits. One square kilometre of this rainforest contains nearly 100 000 tonnes of living plants. More than 100 pharmaceutical companies are funding projects
studying Indigenous plants used by Indigenous healers.
- Climate change:The rainforest accounts for about 10% of the world's carbon stores in ecosystems. Amazonian forests accumulated about 0.5 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year between 1975 and 1996. Fires related to Amazonian deforestation have made Brazil one of the top greenhouse gas producers, with nearly 200 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide each year coming from logging and burning.
Negative Results:
- Between 1980 and 1987, 20% of the state of Rond么nia was deforested.
-
The Indigenous people of the area have lost some of their lands and culture; many have died of diseases brought by the settlers.
- If the current rate of deforestation continues, an additional 2 million square kilometres of rainforest will disappear in the next fifty years.
Positive Results:
Rond么nia, Brazil, June 1985: This aerial photograph shows the unique Brazilian pattern of clearing land only along transportation routes. Land clearings in the southern Amazon Basin usually radiate out in a perpendicular pattern from streams or roads. The clearings usually have a "herringbone" appearance. While the spacing of the perpendicular roads or tracts can vary, most of the intervals between these roads are 4 to 5 kilometres.
-
Nearly 1 million urban poor and landless peasant farmers have migrated to the region where they have been able to experience some degree of prosperity.
Rond么nia, Brazil, June 1985: This aerial photograph shows the unique Brazilian pattern of clearing land only along transportation routes. Land clearings in the southern Amazon Basin usually radiate out in a perpendicular pattern from streams or roads. The clearings usually have a "herringbone" appearance. While the spacing of the perpendicular roads or tracts can vary, most of the intervals between these roads are 4 to 5 kilometres.
Deforestation, State of Rond么nia, Brazil, August 1992: Seven years after the previous photo was taken, this view shows the increased devastation of the rainforest. Despite dense cloud cover along the western edge of this photograph, this view
shows more than half of the total acreage in the State of Rond么nia, Brazil. You can see the main northwest-southeast highway that begins in the city of P么rto Velho (under cloud cover), located along the south side of the Madeira River.
Several smaller cities (areas of higher reflectivity) can be seen along the main highway. The city of Rond么nia is located near the centre of the photograph. The solid, darker area is tropical rain forest, with several wispy smoke palls blowing toward the north. The rate of deforestation can be calculated by comparing photographs of an area over time.
Alternatives to Deforestation
The rainforest can be used in many ways without harvesting trees to produce positive economic results that are sustainable. Some studies have shown that the harvest of medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, oils, and other resources such as rubber and chocolate can provide greater economic benefit over the long-term than if the rainforest was burned down for cattle or farming operations.
Some studies show that rainforest land converted to cattle operations yields the land owner $60 per acre. If the timber is harvested, the land is worth $400 per acre. However, if renewable and sustainable resources are harvested, the land yields the land owner $2400 per acre. This provides an income today and for generations to come while still preserving the biodiveristy of this natural treasure.
If the wild products of the Amazon were harvested, this practice would provide employment for Indigenous people without forcing them to abandon their cultures. Today, some Indigenous tribes earn 5 to 10 times more money harvesting wild medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, and oils than by destroying the forest and planting subsistence crops.
Several smaller cities (areas of higher reflectivity) can be seen along the main highway. The city of Rond么nia is located near the centre of the photograph. The solid, darker area is tropical rain forest, with several wispy smoke palls blowing toward the north. The rate of deforestation can be calculated by comparing photographs of an area over time.
Alternatives to Deforestation
The rainforest can be used in many ways without harvesting trees to produce positive economic results that are sustainable. Some studies have shown that the harvest of medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, oils, and other resources such as rubber and chocolate can provide greater economic benefit over the long-term than if the rainforest was burned down for cattle or farming operations.
Some studies show that rainforest land converted to cattle operations yields the land owner $60 per acre. If the timber is harvested, the land is worth $400 per acre. However, if renewable and sustainable resources are harvested, the land yields the land owner $2400 per acre. This provides an income today and for generations to come while still preserving the biodiveristy of this natural treasure.
If the wild products of the Amazon were harvested, this practice would provide employment for Indigenous people without forcing them to abandon their cultures. Today, some Indigenous tribes earn 5 to 10 times more money harvesting wild medicinal plants, fruits, nuts, and oils than by destroying the forest and planting subsistence crops.
