Geography "I'm Loving it!: Deforestation of the Rainforest

THE ADVANCED BRAZIL PROJECT

The Advance Brazil project is the latest Brazilian government plan which aims to develop roads, railways, waterways and hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon region, costing £27 billion. Using sophisticated computer models and satellite images, scientists have predicted that ‘Advance Brazil’ could completely destroy 28% of the rainforest and leave only 28% undisturbed. The scale of the project could have global impacts as a huge amount of the world’s biodiversity may be lost. Also, the rainforest will no longer act as an effective ’sink’ to soak up the CO2 that contributes to global warming. Local climates may change too as the water cycle is disrupted. However, the Brazilian government argues that the rising population needs land to improve their quality of life, and the country needs to make money from natural resources to industrialise and to pay off foreign debt.

TASK You are employed as a planner to:

Explain why Brazilian Government Policies are threatening the Amazon Rainforest
Assess the effects of these policies by describing the Rainforest Ecosystem and how different groups of people are damaging it
Advise the Brazilian government on ways the Rainforest could be managed in a sustainable way.

Set out your report in the following way

Introduction to the problem- First of all show where the rainforest is and explain a little about its structure and how it is a fragile ecosystem (mention nutrient cycles). Then go on to explain how current management plans (exploitation) of the rainforest is affecting the area. You can explain how the climate is changing and the physical effects of deforestation and other practices.
Assessment of the effects of these policies - How are different groups of people damaging the rainforest? Don’t forget all the different interest groups we mentioned in class and add any that you have researched. Use any figures or graphs at this point to make your point.
Advise the Brazilian governement on ways that Roraima’s rainforest could be developed without destroying it forever (sustainable management). You should consider the following.

Some Useful Links:

The official English language website for the project is at

http://www.eixos.gov.br/ingles/primeira_pagina/escolha/index.htm

A more critical view of the project can be found here

http://www.solcomhouse.com/advancebrasil.htm

Destruction of the rainforest

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_destruction.html

http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html

Consequences of deforestation

http://www.mongabay.com/0901.htm

Conservation of the rainforest

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/amazon/amazon_conservation.html