Deforestation in the Amazon Basin

Dear 3R3,

Check out the link if you'd like to view the video on the Deforestation of the Amazon Basin again.

The following is the summary of the video in point form:

• Social crisis in the Brazilian Amazon
• Large scale farm producers interested in the Soy Rush --> hoping to strike it rich quickly
• The burning of the Rainforests forces the communities found in the forest to be expelled from their lands in the name of progress
• Agriculture in place of the Amazon Rainforest --> short-term gain chosen over long-term conservation
• Already, the size of France has been destroyed and at this rate the forest can be lost between 30-40 years
• This would affect the global climate and rainfall patterns
• Soy was introduced to Brazil in 1882
• New soy varieties made it possible for soy to grow well in the poor soil conditions causing plantations to expand into the northern tropical states of Brazil from 1995-2004, increasing the area cultivated by soy to increase by 77%
• In 2003, soy production was at 186 million tonnes
• In 2004 the estimated figures were at 200 million tonnes
• It is predicted that by 2020, the production of soy would hit 300 million tonnes per year
• The main producers of soy are, USA, Brazil and Argentina with USA and Brazil vying to be the no. 1 export of soy
• 26000 sq km of the forest was destroyed in 2004
• The forests that have been unexplored can generate more wealth than when used to produce soy
• With a 270 000 urban population and 63000 people in the rural areas, Santarem is at the front line for soy expansion
• Commercial agriculturalist have been buying or stealing land from traditional communities
• The problems faced by farmers after having sold their land included, lack of money and survival became difficult as they could not simply get food from their own farm
• Those traditional farmers who did not have formal title deeds to their land or refused to sell their land were in the end thugged or threatened
• In 2004, 20 homes were burned down on the 5th, 6th and 7th of November. Locals were assaulted with shotguns and had to watch their belongings burn
• Organisations involved in the peaceful protests were the Greenpeace and the Women's Association Movement
• On the 12th of Feb 2005, the Brazil Minister of Environment came to Santarem to share the good news that the government has not ignored the 5-year battle for the Rainforest by the locals and would reserve the land for the people
• During this time, an environmentalist, human activist and nun, Dorothy was gunned down for being to vocal about the issues on soy production in the Rainforest
• To these producers, the forest is seen as an obstacle. They are incapable of understanding that a forest left standing and well managed can produce greater benefits than just cattle or planting soy or corn
• Cargill, a private American agriculture company and largest in the world are responsible for developing agricultural activities in the Amazon
• They had managed to escape their environmental checks and illegally built a port for export of soy
• Their farmers had 9 Greenpeace members arrested and also assaulted the protestors