Abstract
This is a review of the main factors currently perceived as threats to the biodiversity of Amazonia. Deforestation and the expansion of the agricultural frontier go hand in hand within the context of occupation and land use in the region, followed by a hasty process of industrialization since the 1950s and, more recently, by a nation-wide attempt to adapt Brazil to economic globalization. Intensive agriculture and cattle-raising, lack of territorial planning, the monoculture of certain crops often promoted by official agencies, and the introduction of exotic species by cultivation are some of the factors affecting Amazonian biodiversity. There are still large gaps in knowledge that need to be dealt with for a better understanding of the local ecosystems so as to allow their preservation, but such investigation is subjected to manifold hindrances by misinformation, disinformation and sheer ignorance from the legal authorities and influential media. Data available for select groups of organisms indicate that the magnitude of the loss and waste of natural resources associated with deforestation is staggering, with estimated numbers of lost birds and primates being over ten times that of such animals illegally commercialized around the world in one year. The challenges to be met for an eventual reversal of this situation demand more systematic and concerted studies, the consolidation of new and existing research groups, and a call for a halt to activities depleting the Amazonian rainforest.
Highlights
The highest annual rates of deforestation ever registered for Amazonia occur in the region known as the Deforestation Arch, which occupies most of its east-west expanse, and is currently under pressure from interest groups from all over the country, which are occupying public lands for the development of agricultural and cattle-raising activities
Biol., 68(4, Suppl.): 949-956, 2008 planned occupation, colonization of Amazonia since the late 1960s was marked by a violent process of occupation and environmental degradation typical of “frontier economics”, in which progress is understood as boundless economic growth and prosperity, based on the exploitation of natural resources perceived as limitless (Becker, 2001)
We present a review of recent data on deforestation in Amazonia, supporting the claim that it is responsible for an enormous rate of loss of biodiversity
Summary
The highest annual rates of deforestation ever registered for Amazonia occur in the region known as the Deforestation Arch, which occupies most of its east-west expanse, and is currently under pressure from interest groups from all over the country, which are occupying public lands for the development of agricultural and cattle-raising activities. The social and economic failure of this model of colonization over the past thirty years was not enough to restrain the process of indiscriminate occupation of the Amazonian territory If such activities were once financed by official resources, leased at low interest rates and payable in endless installments, highly capitalized sectors of Brazilian society are jointly working in order to promote a new era of aggressive occupation of the region, taking advantage of the fragility of the state structure in the region and the support of political sectors little concerned with local aspirations. In the 2003-2004 period, approximately 80% of deforestation in Legal Amazonia occurred in about 50 municipalities in the States of Mato Grosso, Pará and Rondônia In some of those municipalities, the deforested area reached 80100% of their total area.
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