Pros And Cons Of Deforestation In The Amazon

Dear President de Silva,

“It’s not an investment if it's destroying the planet.” - Vandana Shiva, an Indian activist that fights against deforestation in the Amazon. The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest, but not for long. Since the 1960s, loggers, rubber tappers, cattle ranchers, and settlers have traveled into the forest after the native Amazonians for many different reasons. The natives and rubber tappers use “sustainable development” which is when the forest is used for its resources without damaging the trees and wildlife. The other groups mentioned above use the forest’s resources as well, but in a harmful way. They cut and burn large numbers of trees to profit from the natural habitat. This is where the argument begins on whether

The loggers and cattle ranchers depend on the trees and empty land to sell wood and beef, but the empty land also helps oil miners. Brazil’s largest yearly export is petroleum, making $30.6 billion USD in 2021. The oil miners use the land after it has been deforested and used for cattle. Then, they install oil rigs and extract gasses and crude oils from the ground. If deforestation were to stop, Brazil would lose its country’s largest export. On the other hand, the natives and environmentalists are arguing that deforestation is taking out too much of the forest. However, there are still 865 million acres of unused land in the Amazon. All of this land is where the natives can continue their way of life and where activists can find

However, there is another way. The last method is to do both, and take advantage of the way the natives and rubber trappers use sustainable development. An example that shows why using the two methods is beneficial is the slash and burn technique. This is where the bottom layer of the brush is burned and the trees are taken out. However, the ash from the burning replenishes the soil and makes it easier for the trees to grow back. This way, the loggers can continue to earn the money they were making by clear cutting. Another example is what happened between 2005-2014. According to the article “Why It's Been so Lucrative to Destroy the Amazon Rainforest”, in this span of nine years deforestation was down 70% from the past years. This was because of people protecting the environment more. During this time, the Brazilian government was paying between $308 and $923 for every hectacre of land that avoided deforestation. During this time, the Brazil economy still grew, and there were almost 30 million people that escaped poverty. This shows that Brazil would benefit and the forest would live longer if the forest was used for resources and