Deforestation in Brazil

Essay by babyygurllHigh School, 10th gradeA+, March 2004

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

Downloaded 80 times

There are many environmental issues that are a concern in the world today. One in particular is deforestation. Nowhere on earth is the threat of biological impoverishment because of deforestation greater than in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The Amazon supports approximately 300 million hectares of tropical forest, the largest single area of tropical forest communities in the world. Deforestation of this land leads to serious consequences not only for the country of Brazil, but for the entire world. The rain forest in Brazil and the other forests on this planet play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the planet's atmosphere. Deforestation has had dramatic effects on the climate with the combination of reduced rainfall and soil erosion. (http://www.mongabay.com/external/record_amazon_deforestation_2002.htm)

According to the website, http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html deforestation is the destruction of vast areas of forest (e.g., unsustainable forestry practices, agricultural and range land clearing, and the over exploitation of wood products for use as fuel) without planting new growth.

In Brazil, what is being destroyed is the most species-rich habitat on Earth. Because it provides much of the world's oxygen, it has been the subject of more protests, and had more voices risen in its defense, than any other piece of ground on the entire planet. Deforestation in Brazil is leading to the destruction of habitats and is also endangering numerous amounts of plants and animals that are native to that particular area. The process of deforestation in various geographical regions is destroying this unique environment. Consequently, many animals and plants that live in the rainforests face the specter of extinction. The extinction of the plants and animals leads to diminished gene pool. The lack of biodiversity and a reduced planetary gene pool could have many unpredicted consequences, some of which could be fatal to the future of humanity. In...