The Causes Of Deforestation In The Brazilian Amazon

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The Brazilian Amazon is home to 40% of the world’s tropical rainforest. Incidentally, it also has the world’s fastest rate of deforestation. Tropical Rainforests around the world are lost at the rate of one acre per second with the average rate of Brazilian Amazon being such that 2 million hectares of forest land are cleared every year. There are multiple causes for this extensive rate of deforestation and this paper will address four such causes namely (1) rapid population growth, (2) industrial logging and mining, (3) changing spatial patterns of deforestation, and (4) wildfires. Moreover, there are several Brazilian state policies that encourage deforestation practices of which this paper will look at five key aspects – (1) taxes on agricultural income, (2) rules of land allocation, (3) land taxes, and (4) tax credit schemes and subsidized credits. However, despite rapid deforestation there have been long drawn efforts made by the domestic and global actors for forest conservation and curbing practices of deforestation. This has led to a tussle between pro-development and pro-environment policy networks trying to influence policies which directly affect the Amazon Rainforest and its inhabitants. The paper will also analyze 4 stages in the history of Brazil from 1960s to now in light of such policy networks.
Causes of Deforestation
(1) Rapid Population Growth
Studies show Amazonian populations have high intrinsic growth rates, which has led to an increase in the population