It provides almost everything from food and shelter to tools and medicines, as well as playing a crucial role in people's spiritual and cultural life.
For example, the Waimiri Atroari of the Brazilian Amazon use 32 plant species in the construction of hunting equipment alone. Each plant has a specific role according to its physical and chemical properties. Yet the traditional way of life for indigenous Amazon cultures is being threatened. As logging companies move in, indigenous people are losing their traditional territory. Some indigenous people, such as the Deni living in a remote area of Brazil's Amazonas state, are working not only to protect their culture, but the forest and the diversity of life upon which they depend [19].
As long as nation states remain powerful actors in natural resources allocation, regulation and management, political interference is an anticipated factor in any region and with consequent implications. The Brazilian Amazon is no exception in terms of forest management and timber production from states such as Para and Mato Grosso, which have a dual system of timber industry governance.
This consists of a regulatory system that oversees the management of estates and the harvesting of timber and a chain-of-custody system intended to ensure trace-ability of timber from forest to user. Large amounts of illegal timber enter national and international timber markets after being laundered, using genuine documents obtained through fraudulent processes.
The description above describes the implications from illegal logging in Amazon-Brazil from the perspective of a forestry student. As a result of concerns about rapid deforestation and forest degradation around the world, there have been measures put in place to curb the process worldwide with the EU FLEGT as a specific example. This document generates credits for timber transactions within a chain-of-custody system and there must be an AUTEF associated with all timber sold or transported.
In the Amazon. Harvesting is currently limited to 30m3 of timber which is equivalent to two to five trees, depending on species and size per hectare every 35 years.
At the start of this study, I nearly concluded that all is well in the Brazilian Amazon in terms of illegal logging at present due to law enforcement all over as well as publications indicating a decline in deforestation.
However, referring to the definition of illegal logging provided above, much has been discovered, contrary to my earlier thoughts. I therefore argue that there is more to what has been provided about illegal logging in this region based on the following;. What recommendations might someone from another discipline or profession make to combat the issue of illegal logging in Amazon-Brazil? Examples might include:.
Open Case Studies. About Process Documentation People. Framing the Problem. Framing the Problem: A Forestry Perspective There is no doubt that illegal logging is a pervasive problem, causing enormous damage to forests, to forest peoples and to the economies of producer countries. This region that supplied 12 percent of the Brazilian log production in , now produces some 30 million cubic meters of logs a year, or 90 percent of Brazil's total tropical timber production [15] Framing the Problem: Layering Perspectives The description above describes illegal logging in Amazon-Brazil from the perspective of a forestry student.
Those interested in contributing to this case study may use the following questions as a guide: How do scholars and professionals outside of forestry conceptualize the practice of illegal logging in Amazon-Brazil? What are other possible ways of framing this problem? What special expertise, resources, or theoretical orientations might others bring to help us understand this phenomenon better?
Implications: A Forestry Perspective. Initiatives to Combat Illegal Logging. Recommendations: A Forestry Perspective At the start of this study, I nearly concluded that all is well in the Brazilian Amazon in terms of illegal logging at present due to law enforcement all over as well as publications indicating a decline in deforestation. I therefore argue that there is more to what has been provided about illegal logging in this region based on the following; Bureaucratic management of forests and issue of licences.
It appears that the state has more power over the overall management and use of forest resources in this region but with a complex system of engaging different stakeholders. Forest tenure and strands of secure property rights ; the information I have been able to gather so far shows that a greater percentage of the forests is publicly owned and includes indigenous lands, with the rest being owned by communities.
Trees would start to die and the tropical rainforest could become more like a dry savannah. The projection, however, still does not take into account degradation because of the difficulty of measuring it across Panamazonas - the joint Amazon biome across the different national borders.
This means it could be even closer than they think. But what could happen after the tipping point? Scientists can't say exactly what a sudden transformation of the Amazon rainforest would mean. But Brazilian climatologist Carlos Nobre, says temperatures in the region could increase by 1. And that is without taking into account possible increases already caused by global warming. This could have a catastrophic impact on the local economy. Less rain and higher temperatures mean less water for animals or growing crops like soya.
Some studies link deforestation to an increase in illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes, such as malaria and leishmaniasis. The process of degradation could make the insects look for other sources of food and get closer to urban settlements.
And temperature increases could lead to more heat-related cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, says Beatriz Oliveira, from Brazil's Climate Change Investigations Network Red-Clima. Deforestation and its causes are a major source of friction between the governments of the nine Amazon nations, environmentalists, companies and indigenous groups: the desire for economic development clashes, in the main, with the preservation of the Amazon and its native peoples.
It affects the ecosystem of the whole region, including those who are not part of the Amazon itself, and beyond. Antonio Nobre says: "The ring made by central-southern Brazil and the River Plate basin would be a desert if it wasn't for the Amazon.
So what is driving deforestation in each of the Amazon nations, how much primary forest have they lost and what are their governments doing? The fires which started in Bolivia in May destroyed almost two million hectares of forest, according to the Friends of Nature monitoring NGO. Environmentalists say Evo Morales' government has promoted deforestation with policies of selling land in the Amazon region to businessmen and distributing it to farmers.
The expansion of the farming frontier is mainly to encourage soya planting and cattle raising, in the hope of building exports for the Chinese market. The same region was responsible for nearly half of Bolivia's soya production in and was most affected by the fires last year.
In response to criticism during the fires crisis, Morales halted land sales in Santa Cruz for what he called "an ecological pause". We asked the Bolivian environment ministry about its strategy to reduce deforestation, but have had no response. They had cleared around , hectares 9, sq km , the largest area of forest cut down since And these figures don't take into account August , when Amazon fires were at their worst. President Jair Bolsonaro's government claimed the fires were down to the dry season.
The land is then used to plant grass and create pastures," says Erika Berenguer. Brazil is the largest beef exporter in the world. But that is only part of the story. Around 60 million hectares of the Brazilian Amazon are considered public areas, or rather they have no legal purpose defined by the government.
They are not conservation areas, nor indigenous territories, for example. People clear this land, cut the trees down and put cattle on them, it's the cheapest way to occupy them, says Stabile.
The next step in the chain is to illegally obtain a title deed for the land and sell it, says Mr Stabile. They then find another patch of forest and start again. The land is often sold to large-scale farmers and it is hard to tell which was cleared legally and what wasn't.
According to Mr Stabile and other investigators, Brazil could double or triple its number of cattle without felling another hectare of the Amazon rainforest.
Environmentalists and investigators say statements and policies from Bolsonaro's government are encouraging clearances and the persecution of indigenous people. Although the government denies this, the president has said he wants to end the "industry of environmental taxes" and believes the country has too many conservation areas. The government also wants to allow mining on land belonging to indigenous tribes.
The finger of blame is pointed at those involved in land clearance, logging and mining. However, as the coronavirus crisis took hold in May, around 4, troops were mobilised in the Amazon against illegal logging and other activities until June, although that could be extended into the dry season to help with fire prevention. Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said the coronavirus outbreak had "aggravated" the situation this year.
President Bolsonaro, however, has spoken against punitive measures taken against loggers and miners - such as the destruction of their equipment when it can't be taken out of the forest.
Critics say that sends a message that the government is on their side. In , the level of deforestation in Colombia was one of the biggest in the Amazon region and the highest in the country's history.
More than , hectares of forest was cleared, twice the previous year's total. This peak was a result of the peace accord with Farc rebels in , which left a power vacuum in forested areas.
Community leaders said Farc had acted as a type of environmental police, controlling when farmers were allowed to clear the forest or burn for agriculture or cattle farming. So the rebels could establish strict rules," said Rodrigo Botero, director of Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development.
However, Colombia is now facing a race to clear land in the Amazon led by large-scale farmers, local authorities, drug dealers and other paramilitary groups such as the ELN, says Botero. The Colombian government formed a National Council for the Fight against Deforestation in an attempt to tackle the issue.
The group works to identify pockets of deforestation, the causes and what action is needed, according to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. Laws passed in made the protection of water, biodiversity and the environment priority issues in matters of national security.
The government can now intervene to protect areas in the Amazon national park from illegal activities. They are also carrying out military operations against people clearing land and launching programmes which promote financial incentives for conservation. By , Colombian had lost around But there are signs the efforts are paying off. In , there was a significant fall in the loss of primary forest - although the level of deforestation was still higher than any year on record before the peace agreement.
In the north of Ecuador, palm oil production is the main threat to the Amazon, experts say. The oil is used worldwide in the industrialised production of food such as chocolate, cosmetics, cleaning products and fuels. Ecuador is the second biggest producer of palm oil in Latin America, and the sixth worldwide. The expansion of palm oil and cocoa plantations in the last 10 years is the main driver of deforestation, according to Global Forest Watch and Maap. Mining projects and oil exploration in the Amazon have also made headline news in Ecuador.
One such project is Mirador, an open mine for copper, gold and silver which will be built in two Amazon provinces. He urged town folk to turn out to greet the minister, who he expected would lend a sympathetic ear to industry concerns. He was referring to the regime of oversight that has guided Brazilian environmental policy for the past three decades—and that helped produce a sharp decline in deforestation, at least until a few years ago.
Lima, 46, is a lanky man who bears a striking resemblance to former U. A veteran field agent with nearly 15 years of experience in the backwoods, he is admired by colleagues as a savvy and gutsy inspector. He has been the target of numerous threats, often spread through social media, and there are places he does not travel without a police escort.
Pacarana has a single gas station, a handful of shops, an open-air saloon, a Catholic church, and several evangelical chapels. An elementary school empty for vacation served as the command center and billet for the operation. Officers and troops pitched cots and tents in its classrooms and courtyard.
From the school, convoys sallied forth every morning toward the half-dozen sawmills that lay beyond town, hidden behind high plank walls. One morning a string of seven green and white IBAMA 4x4s and an escort of police pickups snaked past piles of enormous tree trunks lining the edge of an expansive lumberyard.
They pulled up outside a long, weather-beaten shed. Thick clouds of dust filtered the blinding sunlight as the agents stepped out of their vehicles. The shed was deserted and eerily silent. Underneath its corrugated tin roof, the team found an assembly of brand-new milling machines, just out of the box, sitting in a haphazard jumble of exposed wires, discarded oil cans, and sawdust mounds. Inspectors in bullet-proof vests picked their way along creaking floorboards, taking inventory of conveyor belts, compressors, and bandsaw blades.
Out in the yard, Lima paused to examine a stack of unmilled tree trunks. Many measured as much as four feet in diameter. Some of the timber was deep red, some a rich yellow. Trickles of sap bled from the ends, exuding a sweet, pungent smell. Spies relay the whereabouts of field agents to logging crews via two-way radio. Loggers use camouflage paint and foliage to conceal equipment; they cut narrow trails under the forest canopy to reach valuable trees, confounding aerial surveillance.
Often they truck the logs to sawmills at night. Unscrupulous brokers bribe bureaucrats to produce documents that purport to show that the wood has come from licensed, sustainably managed forests. That enables logging firms to bring illegal lumber to market with all the appearance of legitimacy.
Only recently, Lobo said, have public prosecutors and police investigators come to understand the conspiratorial nature of these crimes and to prosecute them accordingly.
During the course of the operation I witnessed, nearly 6, cubic meters of illegal timber were seized, according to IBAMA. Three mills were definitively shut down. Illegal, selective logging is not the principal cause of deforestation—that is, clear-cutting—or of the devastating fires that have alarmed the entire world.
But selective logging does permit more sunlight to filter down to the forest floor, drying it out and making it more fire-prone.
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