Deforestation and the Amazon Rainforest: The Downfall
The Amazon Rainforest is more than likely the most well-known rainforest in the world. It is home to many species of animals, insects, plants, microorganisms, and some indigenous populations. Some species that thrive in the Amazon are actually becoming extinct. The Amazon as a whole has seen a lot of deforestation in past years, and is continuing to see it. Logging and burning for different purposes is what deforestation really boils down to. From logging the trees for urbanization purposes, to burning forestland for livestock grazing purposes, the Amazon is slowly slipping away, and there are a lot of negative downfalls of this. There are cures for cancer that are located in the Amazon, and other various, huge, reasons as to why deforestation of the Amazon need to slow down. If the trend continues at this rate, there will be more and more problems.
Jason and Capri's trip to Brazil 2007-2008
This is a map location of the Amazon Basin. The ye...
Mangrove and woodland near the Amazon river - Sali...Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest is bound to do more harm to not just the region that it is in, but the world.
Reasons for Deforestation in the Amazon
There are various reasons that deforestation has occurred in the Amazon Rainforest. The first and most used reason, is cattle ranching. "The large and medium-sized ranches account for about 70% of clearing activity. (In Brazilian Amazonia)" (Fearnside 2005). The cattle industry makes a lot of money for Brazil, however, it is "only one of the income sources that make deforestation profitable. Since there is/was not enough room for as much ranching that is wanted/needed, the only way that seems to make since is to literally move the forest out of the way. Another reason for deforestation is the growing demand for natural resources. "As human population size increases, demand for natural resources will increase" (Presley et al. 2008).