Conservation in Brazil

In order to protect biological and socio-cultural diversity, Brazil has established an extensive network of protected areas which covers more than 2 million km² (25% of Brazil's national territory) and is divided almost equally between protected natural areas or conservation units and indigenous land (Terras Indígenas). For surveillance, the Força Aérea Brasileira has been using aircrafts, as part of the Sistema de Vigilância da Amazônia (SIVAM) program, to monitor the illegal logging or burning of the Amazon.

From 2002 to 2006, the protected land in the Amazon Rainforest has almost tripled, and deforestation rates have dropped up to 60%. About 1,000,000 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi), have been put onto some type of conservation, which adds up to a current amount of 1,730,000 square kilometres (670,000 sq mi).^[1]

Conservation issues

"At bottom right and bottom center, deforestation and cultivation are evident by the regular, rectangular shapes that delineate plots."^[2]

More than one-fifth of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil has been completely destroyed, and more than 70 mammals are endangered.).^[3] The threat of extinction comes from several sources, including deforestation and poaching. Extinction is even more problematic in the Atlantic Forest, where nearly 93% of the forest has been cleared.^[4] Of the 202 endangered animals in Brazil, 171 are in the Atlantic Forest.^[5]

Deforestation

Main article: Deforestation in Brazil

Brazil's environment is under threat because of the rapid economic and demographic rise. Extensive legal and illegal logging destroys forests the size of a small country per year, and with it a diverse series of species through habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation.^[6] Since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (230,000 sq mi) of the Amazon Rainforest have been cleared by logging.^[7] Between 2002 and 2006, an area of the Amazon the size of South Carolina was deforested for the purposes of raising cattle, growing soybeans and cutting timber. By 2020, it is estimated that at least 50% of the species resident in Brazil will become extinct.^[8]

Poaching

According to a 2001 report by Rede Nacional de Combate ao Tráfico de Animais Silvestres, or RENCTAS, (Portuguese for "National Network Against the Trafficking of Wild Animals"), wildlife smuggling is Brazil's third most profitable illegal activity, after arms dealing and drug smuggling.^[9] RENCTAS believes that the poachers are taking an estimated 38 million birds, animals and reptiles from the wild each year.^[10]

Conflict with ranchers

Brazilian environmental activists Wilson Pinheiro and Chico Mendes were murdered in disputes with other local ranchers in 1980 and 1988, respectively.

In 2005, Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old American nun, was murdered in a dispute with a local rancher. Stang wanted to preserve a swath of the rainforest, where the rancher wanted to raise cattle.^[11]

Invasive species

Native wildlife are threatened by some invasive species. There have been more than 300 documented invasive species in Brazil.^[12] It is estimated that invasive species cost Brazil around $49 billion. The most threatening species is the wild boar which destroys crops and natural flora, and can transmit diseases to indigenous animals. Also damaging the natural habitat are African grasses and snails. The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) has put restrictions on what species may be brought into the country.^[13][14]

Endangered species

See also: Official list of endangered flora of Brazil

Economic benefits

Environmentalists have stated there is not only a biological incentive to protecting the rainforest, but an economic one as well. One hectare of the Amazon Rainforest has been calculated to have a value of $6820 if intact forest is sustainably harvested for fruits, latex, and timber; $1000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested); or $148 if used as cattle pasture.^[15]

See also

• Wildlife of Brazil
• List of national parks of Brazil
• List of Brazilian National Forests

References

1. ^ Cormier, L. 2006. A Preliminary Review of Neotropical Primates in the Subsistence and Symbolism of Indigenous Lowland South American Peoples. Ecological and Environmental Anthropology, University of Georgia, April 16, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2006.
2. ^ "Visible Earth: The Amazon, Brazil". NASA. http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?vev1id=14697. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
3. ^ Palmerlee, Danny (2007). South America on a Shoestring. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 275. ISBN 978-1741044430. OCLC 76936293. 
4. ^ "Places We Work: The Atlantic Forest of Brazil". The Nature Conservancy. 2007. http://www.nature.org/wherewework/southamerica/brazil/work/art5080.html. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
5. ^ Capobianco, João Paulo. "Biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest". Brazil on CD-ROM and Internet. Ministry of External Relations. http://www.mre.gov.br/cdbrasil/itamaraty/web/ingles/meioamb/biodiv/matatlan/biodiv/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
6. ^ USDA Forest Service website, Forest Service International Programs: Brazil, retrieved February 2007.
7. ^ Butler, Rhett A. (2006-03-28). "Brazil to Protect Amazon Rainforest". MongaBay.com. http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0328-amazon.html. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
8. ^ "National Academic Press website". 1998. http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=989&page=19. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
9. ^ "Wildlife smuggling rises in Brazil". BBC News. 13 November 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1653034.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-26. 
10. ^ Alex Kirby (29 April 2002). "Brazil's smuggled wildlife toll". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1926231.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-26. 
11. ^ Wallace, Scott. National Geographic Magazine. January 2007.
12. ^ "Symposium in Brasília launches South America Invasive Species Program". The Nature Conservancy. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. http://web.archive.org/web/20071023232818/http://www.nature.org/wherewework/southamerica/brazil/work/art16876.html. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
13. ^ "Brazil Struggles to Control Invasive Animals and Plants". Environment News Service. 2005-10-05. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2005/2005-10-06-07.asp. Retrieved 2007-11-28. 
14. ^ Instituto Hórus de Desenvolvimento e Conservação Ambiental (The Horus Institute for Environmental Conservation and Development)
15. ^ Although this study was developed specifically for the Peruvian Amazon, the Brazilian Amazon holds the same value. Peters, C.M., Gentry, A.H. & Mendelsohn, R.O. (1989) "Valuation of an Amazonian Forest." Nature 339: 655-656.