Brazil: Beefeaters are like a chainsaws’ manifest destiny
Cattle ranches will continue to replace forests in Brazil’s Amazon as
long as global demand for Brazilian beef and the profitability of
cattle ranching persist. What’s more, ongoing increases in global
demand for soy and biofuels may convert former pastures to
agriculture, pushing ranchers farther into the forest, explained
Arima. The population and cattle migration into the Brazilian Amazon
resembles the westward expansion across the United States in the 19th
century; “Brazil’s Manifest Destiny,” said Walker.
The Brazilian
government has promoted the development of the Amazon by sponsoring
economic development programs, population relocation programs and the
construction of dams, highways and a natural gas pipeline in the
Brazilian Amazon. Nevertheless, the Brazilian government is also
heeding some of the lessons made apparent by America’s destruction of
its own forests. During the last ten years, the Brazilian government
has pursued aggressive policies on the designation of protected areas
and on curbing encroachment in the Brazilian Amazon. These policies
have helped protect vast tracts of land that were previously up for
grabs to whoever claimed them. In addition, enforcement of
protections, particularly in indigenous reserves, has improved, said
Arima. Domestic and global forces will continue to drive both
development and conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. Its now a
question of how much of each will occur. “It’s a two edge sword in
that there is this tremendous ecosystem that is largely intact but
underneath that ecosystem and within it there are riches that could be
of great benefit to individuals and larger groups,” explained Walker.
“If you are in Brazil long enough you will see it both ways.”
http://www.livescience.com/environment/090109-bts-deforestation.html
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