Deforestation

Deforestation

1. Rates of clearance

   • About half of the world's rainforest is now gone!
   • 8 million square km has disappeared, nearly the size of the USA
   • Most of it has gone in the last 50 years.
   • Asia has seen the greatest amount of rainforest cleared. It has had 12% of it's original area being cleared. However South America is catching up with around 11% of it's forests being cleared. South America is experiencing the fastest rates of clearance.

2. Who is clearing the forest in Amazonia

   • People that are mainly cutting down trees are the cattle ranchers. Then it is small scale, subsistence agriculture at 33%, these are the main two groups that are cutting down the rainforest in amazonia
   • The other groups that are doing less damage to the forest but still cutting it down are the miners the loggers and also farmers doing large scale commercial agriculture.

3. People for....

   • Unemployed Manaus: They need jobs in logging to provide for their families. Some have to become illegal loggers just to provide some income and also because the have no choice.
   • Loggers: Creates jobs and money for their families. People need furniture which is made out from wood. They ear a lot of money exporting and it helps pay their debts.
   • Miners: Jobs, countries like Japan and China need their raw materials because they themselves don't have any. It helps to keep the prices of these materials down. Only damages relatively small areas
   • Cattle ranchers: Jobs and money. Need to produce leather, beef and dairy products to the Brazilian citizens.

4. People against...

   • Environmentalists like Greenpeace: Encourage petitions, great concern over the rate of clearance. Global warming- forests-carbon sink absorbing CO2. Less trees, more carbon dioxide in the air. When you burn trees you also let out carbon dioxide. There is a worry of animals getting extinct because of their loss of habitat.
   • Eco-tourism: Want the forest to remain so they can keep on giving people tours and getting income from the tours in the future. This is a more sustainable way of making money. Only 10% of plant species are being studied, which means if you cut down plants and trees how will you find out anything new?
   • Medical research: There are many plants that are used to cure diseases and illnesses. If you cut down trees man of these plants will get damaged, and they are needed to cure disease. Quinine cures malaria. Periwinkle treats childhood leukaemia. The death rate fell from 80% to 20%.
   • Indians/tribes: They are losing valuable plants and medicines, which they need as they don't just go to a doctor. The Indians have a vast knowledge of these plants that can help many people. Deforestations destroys their way of life and culture and they are losing their land. They are being physically threatened and driven of their land.