How the Amazon is Under Threat
Six Groups that Have an Impact on the Amazon Rainforest
Native Amazonians. This group settled in the Amazon Rainforest about 12,000 years ago. They need the resources(like trees and animals) to survive. All they want is to continue their traditional ways of life without being disturbed by other groups. They are not hurting anyone but people are hurting them.
Settlers have been in the rainforest since the 1800s. They use land that has been cleared to grow crops and build homes and they, like the Native Amazonians, need the land and resources to survive.
Loggers are one of the main causes of deforestation.They have been in the rainforest since the 1960s. Loggers have two ways of cutting down trees: clear cutting (where they cut down a large area of trees at once) and strip logging (where they take strips of trees out instead of a large area. This way is less harmful to the environment because the stumps are surrounded by trees and moisture on both sides which doesn't get rid of the trees for good.) The money loggers make by selling the wood is used to pay off Brazilian debts and helps many people by giving more jobs and creating more business.
Cattle Ranchers are people who raise cattle on rainforest land. Ranchers came to the rainforest in the mid to late 1900s. They move onto grassland in the rainforest and raise the cattle. The money made this way is also used to help pay off debts in Brazil and generate more business in the economy.
Rubber Tappers are people who take the sap from trees without hurting the ecosystem. This group came in the 1960-1970s. What they do is they make slashes on the trees with blades (so it doesn't hurt the trees) and take out the sap that way. The sap is used to make rubber in factories.
Environmentalists are like the big bosses of the rainforest. They are very protective of how the rainforests resources should be used, which is to leave them be. Most environmentalists come to the rainforest to study the ways of life by studying animals, plants, and working with the native people who live there.
How the Amazon Affects the Economy
Should businesses go into the Amazon with loggers, ranchers, and others even further, the economy would be able to grow due to the great trees and soil in the area, while there could also be a large supply of hydroelectricity or freshwater from the Amazon River. However, such a move would decrease the amount of trees and also kill off many species of wildlife as environmentalists say, and the soil would actually get worn out quite quickly, making such a venture fruitless with extremely short term profits and no hope for the long term while industrialization and moving logs down the river may pollute the Amazon, and so lower its chance at being a good freshwater source. This relates to opportunity costs and trade offs because if the Brazilians decide to continue with deforestation and using the land for more agriculture then they'll lose the strength in the soil and the famous wildlife while large amounts of rain will cause more flooding, whereas leaving it as it is will cause Brazil to lost a good chance at paying off some of its debt and developing its economy further North.
This also ties into the questions of what should be produced, how it should be produced, and for whom, for if Brazil wants more crops they can either use the Amazon, try and find other lands, or take in imports.
Native Amazonians. This group settled in the Amazon Rainforest about 12,000 years ago. They need the resources(like trees and animals) to survive. All they want is to continue their traditional ways of life without being disturbed by other groups. They are not hurting anyone but people are hurting them.
Settlers have been in the rainforest since the 1800s. They use land that has been cleared to grow crops and build homes and they, like the Native Amazonians, need the land and resources to survive.
Loggers are one of the main causes of deforestation.They have been in the rainforest since the 1960s. Loggers have two ways of cutting down trees: clear cutting (where they cut down a large area of trees at once) and strip logging (where they take strips of trees out instead of a large area. This way is less harmful to the environment because the stumps are surrounded by trees and moisture on both sides which doesn't get rid of the trees for good.) The money loggers make by selling the wood is used to pay off Brazilian debts and helps many people by giving more jobs and creating more business.
Cattle Ranchers are people who raise cattle on rainforest land. Ranchers came to the rainforest in the mid to late 1900s. They move onto grassland in the rainforest and raise the cattle. The money made this way is also used to help pay off debts in Brazil and generate more business in the economy.
Rubber Tappers are people who take the sap from trees without hurting the ecosystem. This group came in the 1960-1970s. What they do is they make slashes on the trees with blades (so it doesn't hurt the trees) and take out the sap that way. The sap is used to make rubber in factories.
Environmentalists are like the big bosses of the rainforest. They are very protective of how the rainforests resources should be used, which is to leave them be. Most environmentalists come to the rainforest to study the ways of life by studying animals, plants, and working with the native people who live there.
How the Amazon Affects the Economy
Should businesses go into the Amazon with loggers, ranchers, and others even further, the economy would be able to grow due to the great trees and soil in the area, while there could also be a large supply of hydroelectricity or freshwater from the Amazon River. However, such a move would decrease the amount of trees and also kill off many species of wildlife as environmentalists say, and the soil would actually get worn out quite quickly, making such a venture fruitless with extremely short term profits and no hope for the long term while industrialization and moving logs down the river may pollute the Amazon, and so lower its chance at being a good freshwater source. This relates to opportunity costs and trade offs because if the Brazilians decide to continue with deforestation and using the land for more agriculture then they'll lose the strength in the soil and the famous wildlife while large amounts of rain will cause more flooding, whereas leaving it as it is will cause Brazil to lost a good chance at paying off some of its debt and developing its economy further North.
This also ties into the questions of what should be produced, how it should be produced, and for whom, for if Brazil wants more crops they can either use the Amazon, try and find other lands, or take in imports.