Acre is the Westernmost Brazilian state, and neighbor to Amazonas and Rondônia, spanning about 55,000 square miles. Its capital Rio Branco is home to the 288, 907 of the total 438,489 denizens (1996). The whole of Acre is contained within the Amazon Basin and 93% of it is tropical rain forest. Notwithstanding the great extent of deforestation, the biodiversity of Acre and the surrounding Amazon Basin remains extensive; there are the mammoth trees, countless species of palm trees, vines, bushes, ferns; there are copaíba, Brazil-nuts, various fruits such as cupuaçu and graviola; species of insects, fish, the parrots, araras and other birds, so rare that scientists have yet to describe them; there are cicadas, caimans, the rays, the land-and sweet-water turtles, tapirs, the monkeys, and jaguars.
First Rubber Tappers
The first upsurge of immigration to the Brazilian Amazon resulted from the European and North American industries' need for rubber at the end of the 19th century. "Seringalistas " as the owners of the new rubber companies, would acquire huge areas of the Brazilian rain forest in order to extract the raw material for the rubber (the latex from the rubber trees). This "rubber boom," which brought wealth to the cities of Belem and Manaus, was eliminated with the British rubber production in Malaysia. Therefore, many of the Seringalistas went bankrupt and returned to the northeast.
Once again this condition was reversed during the Second World War, when the Japanese, who were allied with the Germans, usurped the Malaysian plantations. In order to conduct war one must have a supply of rubber, so rubber was once again in high demand in order to supply the allies against the Germans with rubber. People from northeast Brazil returned to extract rubber, which caused the second wave of immigration from the northeast. This time the flood of people was termed the "rubber soldiers" because they had the choice either to go to war against the Germans or become rubber tappers (people who extract latex sap trees and later dry the sap to create rubber).
Development of the Amazon
Brazil had an uncharted frontier to conquer, but the Amazon was in the way. So the Brazilian government resolved to encourage the clearing of forests and the conversion of previous forestland to pastures via tax benefits and direct subsidies. "With government subsidy in one hand and a chain saw in the other, ranchers and colonists advanced over the rain forest at a frightening pace," felling and burning 23,000 square kilometers (8,880 sq.
Wright, David, Heather LaRocca, and Grant DeJongh. "Global Problems." The Amazonian Rainforest: Forest to Farmland? The University of Michigan, 2007. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
The first chapter focuses on Brazil’s founding and history up until present. When the Portuguese were blown off course to Asia onto the coasts of Brazil in 1500, the Portuguese knew they had found a land filled with opportunities. The main attraction was the abundance of brazilwood which could be used for manufacturing luxurious fabrics in Europe. Over the centuries, exploration led to the discovery of more resources such as sugar, coffee, and precious metals that had made it a sought after country for colonization. Even to this day, Brazil maintains the image of a land with limitless resources since the recent discovery of oil and gas reserves and other commodities.
The efforts required by reforestation may not initially be cost effective, but it will result in not only the survivability of the environment, but of the country’s economy. Widespread awareness of these ideas will help fight against the natural human tendency towards instant gratification and short-term goals. Different methods of logging can be utilized to allow the rainforests to survive and regrow naturally and at a sustainable
Introduction Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America. It is the 5th largest country worldwide in terms of both areas (more than 8.5 Mio. km2) and inhabitants (appr. 190 million).
It has many natural resources, including bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, and timber. The climate is tropical in the north, but temperate in the south. The terrain consists of mostly flat to rolling lowlands, with some plains, hills, mountains, and a narrow coastal belt. In recent years, environmentalists have become increasingly concerned over the future of the Amazon region, where human life has threatened the world's largest intact rain forest. Brasilia is the capital and main source of modern industry.
There are many rainforests in the world but one of the biggest one is the Amazon rainforest, which is located in the northern half of South America and lies in the countries of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The Amazon also lies in between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. The size of the Amazon resembles the size of the United States from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. Since this rain forest lies next to the Equator, the climate is warm and humid. The average temperature is in between sixty-eight to ninety- three degrees. The Amazon has two seasons but each one is six months each. They are classified as the wet season and the dry season. The wet season occurs between December to May and the dry season occurs between June to November. The average rainfall is fifty to two hundred and sixty inches per year. The forest floor only gets up to two to five percent of sunlight since the canopy blocks the sunlight from getting to the forest floor. The Amazon rain forest got the nickname, the world’s pharmacy, because many medicines have been found in the tree bark, the tree’s leaves, and other parts of the trees.
The introduction of cattle ranching industries in the 1960s set the forefront for current Brazilian rainforest deforestation figures. During this time, development subsidy programs encouraged Brazilians to clear rainforest for pastureland and invest in new cattle ranches (Pancheco). Over the last 40 years, Brazil has destroyed 700,00 square kilometers of rainforest, an area about the size of Texas (BBC) (Enchanted Lear...
Therefore, a large amount of trees were cut down and led to forest destruction. People have done these kinds of activities for many years and these deforestation activities have brought about a lot of permanent and long term issues. Although the society has started to consider the problem of deforestation, it is not easy to solve the issues completely. Land desertification can be a huge area and it almost cannot be controlled. In addition, it is not only threatening the people and animals in the Amazon, the world is also threatened by deforestation.
... laws, eradicate corruption and try to strictly secure whole Amazon with strict punishments for criminals. To be capable to do this, there must be vast advertisement program, which may interest a lot of people. There are limitations in research such as real condition and a number of indigenous people, because it is estimated that about 50 indigenous tribes are totally isolated from civilization and there are limitations in research in real condition of food and raw materials in supply chain of large companies. This is because any shoe, portion of beef or timber materials that we purchase every day can be illegally exported from Brazil and there must be strict control of global organizations. In addition, there are recommendations of subsequent surveys in improving agriculture and finding more sustainable nutrients which would allow using lands for longer period.
...e reformed to produce more efficient and less harmful means of using resources in the Amazon while also producing new industries to help stimulate these developing countries’ economies.
Brazil is the largest country located in South America, and has a border of the Atlantic Ocean. Its size is only slightly smaller than the United States of America. Approximately 2/5ths of the country consists of the Amazon River, and the Amazon Lowlands is the world's largest rainforest. The Northern area is where one will find the mountains known as the Brazilian Highlands. Their climate is generally tropical, but can be temperate in some areas in the
In the early 1970's, the Brazillian military urged people to allocate to new land in hopes of more modern society that would allieviate poverty and encourage social stability in other areas of the country by having the people move to what they thought was empty land. They ignored the already in place indigenous people that have for many centuries, as we learned in the book "Nature Across Cultures", have shaped the past and the development of the Amazonia through Indigenous knowledge. The ancestors of their ancestors are responsible for creating the vast
Brazil is a diverse and enormous country. There are large, medium and small sized aities that stretch from coast. From Brazilian cit...
Fearnside, Philip M. "Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences." Conservation Biology 19.3 (2005): 680-688. Print.
To obtain and transport has to be quick, easy and the cost has to be minimal. To make all these possible roads are being built through forests. These causes a great deal of damage to the forests because more trees have to be removed again to mine this merchandise. Brazil is once again a prime. example of forest destruction in the United States.