Amazon: The Role Of Causation In The Amazon

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There is a need for future generations to understand the correlation between modern resource extraction practices and the plight of the rainforests. With this understand, hopefully the havoc large-scale resource intensification has produced across global environments can be avoided. The focus of this paper is on the issues surrounding the main economic enterprises for resource extraction in the Amazon; these being logging and timber harvesting, and gold mining. Additionally, attention needs to be paid to analyze the changes agricultural, technological and infrastructural growth has created within the Amazon basin. Each enterprise individually should be viewed to see what has contributed to the deforestation of the rainforest. Analyzing multiple …show more content…

These causation factors were narrowed down slightly and separated further into three categories - single-factor causation, chain-logical causation and concomitant occurrence (Geist and Lambin 2002). Single-factor causation looks at the ways in which individual or underlying factors can drive ecological change and spur local deforestation (Geist and Lambin 2002). Chain-logical causation examines the way several interrelated factors work together to propel deforestation (Geist and Lambin 2002). While concomitant occurrences observe how separate operations contribute to deforestation (Geist and Lambin 2002). With the levels of causation separated and categorized, a better understanding of the driving forces of deforestation can be realized and addressed (Geist and Lambin …show more content…

The total amount of habitat affected in the Brazilian Amazon was up from 208,000 km^2 when first analyzed in 1978 to 588,000 km^2 when revisited in 1988 (Skole and Tucker 1993:1909). As a primary reaction to the sudden increase of deforestation between the years of 1978 and 1988 the biodiversity of plants, animals, and habitat space decreased (Skole and Tucker 1993). When comparing the data sets above, the question that scientists and environmentalist began asking, was why this sudden increase in deforestation over a 10 year span was occurring (Skole and Tucker

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