Which human activities affected the natural environment of the Amazon Basin?

Essay by ceyhanHigh School, 10th grade September 2004

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"The Amazon forest is in danger of being nibbled to death" Although the Amazon forest is 1/3rd of the earths remaining natural forests, humans continue to cut them down for farming, industry, ranching, mining, and other businesses. Slowly the forest is being "nibbled" away, and the Brazilian government is letting this happen to pay off their immense foreign debt. Because this forest is being greedily cut down constantly throughout the year, this act of deforestation triggers a huge chain reaction that affects most beautiful and attractive natural aspects of the Amazon forest. This massive amount of deforestation changes the natural climate, soil relief and vegetation of the biggest natural rainforest in the world.

To gain enough money to pay off their huge foreign debt with many countries, the Brazilian Government uses so much of the Amazon forest. The government allowed poor peasants without land to establish small farms for their own benefit, however to do so they would have to clear an area of forest.

Unfortunately, most of these small-scale farms died out in a matter of 5-6 years, and the small groups of farmers had to find another area to clear, and to establish another farm for themselves.

Because Brazil has a huge amount of iron underground of the Amazon forest and the government needs the resources for exports, they clear huge areas to make mines. In the process of extracting gold, mercury is used, which poisons rivers connected to the waste deposits of the factories. The biggest Iron deposit in the world is right in the middle of the Amazon, where millions of tons of iron ore is mined and deposited for exports. This is good for the economy, however it cut down forest the size of multiple Netherlands put together.

The government also cuts down the forest...