Environment (Pack 4)

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Environment (Pack 4) PART D DEFORESTATION
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• CASE STUDY 2 DEFORESTATION
• WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS?
• Both MEDCs (temperate) and LEDCs (tropical) are
  removing large quantities of trees
• The main temperate forests are in North America
  and Northern Eurasia
• The main tropical or equatorial rainforests are
  in S. America (Amazon), Central Africa and
  Indonesia/Malaysia
• Indias rain forest has already gone

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• Rain forest is cleared for Profit from
  timber (mahogany)
• Cattle ranching (20m. acres per year)
• Amazon rainforest has massive bio diversity,
  containing over one million species of plant,
  bird, animal and insect life.

YANOMAMI
The rain forests of the Amazon basin and its tributaries in South America. Frequent flooding. Dense growth of great biodiversity. Over 1 m species of plants and animals. Huge trees form a canopy protecting the vigorous but fragile ecosystem. Large areas of acidic soil Soil holds small quantity of nutrients. Makes ecosystem fragile.
YANOMAMI
The rain forests of the Amazon basin and its tributaries in South America. Frequent flooding. Dense growth of great biodiversity. Over 1 m species of plants and animals. Huge trees form a canopy protecting the vigorous but fragile ecosystem. Large areas of acidic soil Soil holds small quantity of nutrients. Makes ecosystem fragile.
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• Mining (Carajas bauxite mine)
• Farmland for settlers (growth poles)
• Transport (Trans - Amazon highway growth
  corridor)
• Crops (brazil nuts, vanilla, rubber etc.)
• HEP projects
• 7 of rainforest is cleared annually (about the
  size of Wales)

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The Amazon rainforest has massive bio
diversity, containing over one million species of
plant, bird, animal and insect life.
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• WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES?
• Profit for MEDCs
• Reduction in poverty for LEDCs
• Resettlement of LEDCs poor
• Development areas or growth poles
• Increased access to resources
• Increased standards of living

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• WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES?
• Global warming and climate change
• Disrupted carbon cycle (Lungs of the Earth)
• Erosion (no protection from roots, leaves or
  canopies)
• Dead land (after 3 years ranching)
• Extinction of species (2 per hour)
• Loss of medicines (rosy periwinkle / curare /
  aspirin)
• Indigenous cultures threatened (Yanomami)
• Inappropriate agriculture (not like traditional
  nomadic slash and burn)
• Flooding (e.g. Bangladesh or Panama)

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• SOLUTIONS (OR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)
• Use all harvested wood (not just hard woods)
• Replanting
• Corridor forestry (allows rainforest to
  re-establish)
• Conservation areas
• More MEDC aid / debt reduction
• MEDC wood recycling (from old buildings etc)
• Alternatives to wood
• Use of soft woods (which grow more quickly)

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• Sustainable farming methods
• Integrated farming (within the forests)
• Ban ranching
• Passive resistance / publicity (Chico Mendes
  1988)
• Soil reclamation (FATA in Brazil / Baobab Farm
  in Kenya)
• Education (e.g. this topic)
• Awe and spiritual links with environment
  (Greenpeace)

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• WHAT OTHER THINGS COULD I MENTION?
• Sea pollution
• Toxic waste (nuclear dumping)
• Oil spills (cleaning tanks at sea)
• Over fishing (anchovies / Wall of Death)
• Tourism (Kenyan coral)
• Sewage (Kenyan hotels)

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• Soil degradation
• Wrong ploughing (autumn and up and down slopes)
• Monoculture (no crop rotation)
• Loss of topsoil (non organic methods)
• Toxicity (insecticides / herbicides)

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• Tourism
• Safari
• Swahili and Massai culture
• Coral
• And once again the influence of the economies and
  technology of MEDCs show that were more at fault
  than LEDCs