Deforestation in the Amazonia

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Deforestation in the Amazonia

• 16.02.2006

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Readings

• Gomes (2000) The Indians Today (Ch 5 in The
  Indians of Brazil. Gainesville UP of Florida)
• Moran (1993) Human Ecology as a Critique of
  Development. (Ch 6 in Through Amazonian Eyes The
  Human Ecology of Amazonian Populations. Iowa
  City University of Iowa Press)

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Discussion topics

• Statistics and background
• Definitions of Amazonia
• Factors/agents of development
• Biological and social implications of
  development
• Presentations
• Video The Kayapo Out of the Forest

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Definitions of Amazonia

• Socio-cultural /anthropological
• Culture area
• Lowland vs Highland cultures
• Hydrographic
• Drainage basin or the Amazon Valley
• 6 million square kilometres
• Biological
• Rainforest habitat
• highest diversity of plant species on earth
• 438,000 species of plants
• one hectare - 750 types of trees and 1500 species
  of higher plants
• 20 of worlds birds
• Political-economic
• Legal Amazonia (used in Brazil)
• includes large areas of Brazilian Plateau
• for taxation/administrative purposes

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Development

• 16, 17th century
• little ecological impact
• 18th, 19th century
• Rubber boom
• 1960s
• Logging
• Agricultural clearance
• Construction of highways
• Flooding due to dams
• Etc.

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Non-state agents

• 16/17th c
• Explorers
• Francisco de Orellana
• First to navigate the Amazon in 1541
• Missionaries
• Jesuits
• 18th c
• Early scientists
• Charles Marie de la Condamine
• Fusee Aublet
• the genus Hevea - source of rubber
• 19th c
• Rubber boom

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Non-state agents

• 20th c
• Loggers
• Garimpeiros goldwashers
• search of El Dorado / gold rush
• 1993 the Haximú massacre (yanomamös)
• Seringueiros Rubber tappers
• Chico Mendes
• (Anthropologists)
• Napoleon Chagnon etc

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State projects

• 20th century
• 1970s - Plan of National Integration
• Construction of highways
• Belém-Brasilia Highway (E-W)
• Cuiabá-Santarém Highway (N-S)
• Transamazônica (E-W)
• Hydro-electric power plants
• Resettlement programs
• clearing land for agriculture
• gt Deforestation and relocation of tribes

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Biological implications of development

• Deforestation
• Rainforests used to cover 14 of the Earth's
  surface
• gt 6 now
• disappear within 40 years at the present rate of
  logging
• 1/5 (?) of Amazon rain forest already destroyed
• Pace
• Constantly increasing
• 20,000 sq. miles / year
• 15 ha / minute
• 0.25 ha /second

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Biological implications of development

• Loss of species
• 50,000 a year
• Pace of species loss 500 times the rate of
  natural species appearance
• Global warming
• Especially - deforestation by burning (CO2)
• Biopiracy
• unauthorised use of biological resources
• unauthorised use of indigenous knowledge

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Economic implications

• Potential earnings from one hectare in the Amazon
  per year
• Standing forest
• 6,820 per year (latex, fruits, sustainably
  harvested timber)
• Cut-down forest
• 1,000 (commercial timber)
• 148 ( cattle pasture)

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Social/cultural implications of development

• Constant decrease of indigenous population
• 1500 5 million
• 1600 1 million
• 1940 - 500 000
• 1960 - 100 000
• Predictions that by the end of the 20th century -
  extinct
• 88 ethnic groups disappeared 1900-1960
• Now - 220 groups with 230,000 people
• Rapid population growth among some groups
• Eg Surui and Kayapo

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Protection groups

• SPI - Indian Protection Service (1910)
• Assurance of citizenship rights
• Corruption and exploitation of Indians
• gt FUNAI (1967)
• a failure
• Xingu Indian Reserve (1961)
• Villas Boas Brothers (Orlando and Claudio)
• Various NGOs
• Eg. The Rainforest Foundation (Sting)
• Indian organizations
• Eg. the Kayapo

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Presentations

• Hemming, J. 1987. Amazon Frontier The Defeat of
  the Brazilian Indians. London Macmillan. (Parts
  3 and 4)

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Video The Kayapo Out of the Forest

• By Terence Turner (1990)
• 1988
• Proposal to build a dam on Xingu river
• 1989
• Kayapo protest in Altamira
• Led by Paulinho Paiakan
• World Bank loan cancelled
• Dam project cancelled
• Current situation
• New proposal submitted