Deforestation in Brazil has slowed a bit in the last few years, but the devastation that is currently taking place within the rainforest still threatens the well being of the native people, animals, and plant life living in the rainforest.

Deforestation also affects the whole economy of Brazil. Ironically, when areas of the rainforest are destroyed, it is typically so that the economy can grow stronger in some way, to make room for new businesses, ranches, or commercial ventures.

Only in recent years are people coming to understand the major global impact of destroying large areas of the world's forests, which house a huge number of precious species of animal and plant life.

There are so many medicinal herbs and plants in the rainforest that can be used to treat all manner of illness and disease, and that also have many other practical uses as foods and other items.

There are so many sustainable ways to benefit from the treasures of the Amazon without contributing to deforestation in Brazil.

Some of my favorite foods that are originally from the rainforest include: Brazil nuts - yum! Bananas Coffee Chocolate Avocadoes Yerba Mate tea - my favorite, it is energizing without giving you a caffeine buzz Guaraná - don't drink too much of this or you might feel wired! Açai - a healthy fruit that many Brazilians love

In some parts of the Amazon in Brazil, lemons and green peppers grow abundantly, providing health vitamin C in the local diet that what would otherwise be lacking in fruits and vegetables.

When I was visiting there, we ate mostly rice and beans and bananas. I really appreciated the lemons, also called limao which were small, round and with orange colored rinds.

There are also many other treasures from the rainforest that contribute to a healthy and sustainable econonmy.

For example, kapok is a fluffly white fiber that grows from the rainforest kapok tree nut, and can be used to create healthy, hypoallergenic pillows, matresses, upholstery and insulation. Natural rubber which is called Seringueira in Brazil, is used for many commercial purposes and is not being used for healthy latex mattresses.

Patauá palm provides a healthy, protein rich fruit, a delicious oil similar to olive oil, and fibers for weaving and for created thatched roofs in local buildings.

The Babassu palm provides a number of different resources to people in the amazon rainforest such as fruit, oil, flour and fibers for weaving.

Babassu trees are slow growing and they have the potential to help restore degrated rainforest lands, thus contributing to a sustainable and healthy rainforest.

Other products that are grown and harvested in the rainforest include luxurious nut butters that are used for cosmetic purposes such as: Murumuru butter Illipe Butter Cocoa butter

As you can see, there are so many opportunities to find other ways to prosper economically without creating more deforestation in Brazil.

1960s - The devastation of the natural habitat of the rainforest in Brazil began a little over 40 years ago. At that time, during the 1960s, ranchers were trying to make a go of it by clearing rainforest acreage to support cattle.

They raised the cattle and then sold it to make a profit. Also during that time, colonists were entering the rainforest with hopes of making a living with crop farming.

The colonists used the slash and burn method to clear the land and planted crops.

The government of Brazil actually helped the process of deforestation by passing a policy that stated if a person lives on and works a piece of land for a minimum of 366 days, he owns it after 5 years. Thousands of acres were given away to peasant farmers who continually cleared the land to plant crops.

Unfortunately, agriculture is not the most successful venture in the Amazon rainforest because the land will only support and encourage growth for a short time.

The farmers were forced to slash and burn more and more acreage just to have a place to plant their crops. The result of this was the elimination of many acres of rainforest and the destruction of all animal and plant life in these areas, further contributing to the deforestation in Brazil.

1970s - Construction began on the Trans-Amazon Highway, which was intended to connect several areas in Brazil and make getting from one location to another a lot easier.

The funds ran out before it was completed, so part of the highway is simply dirt which turns into a mud pit during the rainy season, ironically making travel more difficult, not easier.

Acres of rainforest were torn down so the road could go through resulting in more deforestation in Brazil.

In conjunction with the highway construction, timber and mining companies were entering the country to find ways of extracting Brazil's natural resources for profit.

Roads are one of the most destructive things to happen to the rainforest and these companies needed a lot of them to move in large equipment and personnel to do their jobs.

1980s - Brazil was in debt to other countries and needed a way to pay off that debt, so they allowed timber companies to come into the country and take timber from the rainforest.

The amount of timber and deforestation taking place during the decade between 1980 and 1990 was unbelievable. Rainforest acreage equal to the acreage found in Wales, Scotland, and England was removed each year!

Up to Current Day - within recent times, Brazil has become one of the largest contributors to the world in the way of soybean supply. The newest soybean to hit the market can flourish in the rainforest!

It is a new variety cleverly developed by scientists in Brazil who are always looking for new ways to boost the economy and take advantage of the opportunities around the country.

Brazil stands to become possibly the world leader in soybean export, but that also depends on how much of the rainforest will have to remain intact in order for these soybeans to grow.

It was mentioned previously that the deforestation in Brazil is rather an ironic situation. Why is that true? Take the soybean exporting for example.

The soybeans can thrive in a rainforest environment, so they must be grown in that environment. But, to plant the soybeans, the land must be cleared and cultivated and roads must be forged so that trucks and farming equipment can reach the fields for harvesting.

On one hand, the soybeans provide income for the country of Brazil, but on the other hand, the rainforest has to be destroyed in order to do that. Do you see the quandary?

It's the same for the other commercial ventures like mining, logging, and farming. It takes the deforestation of the rainforest in order to make money for the country.

The effects of the deforestation in Brazil reach beyond the country's economy. The effect on the animal and plant life in the rainforest is inescapable unless the devastation is stopped completely. Did you know the rainforest is home to tropical animals and plants that don't live anywhere else on the planet?

Nearly half of the country of Brazil is covered in rainforest, so you can imagine how detrimental the clearing and deforestation of the rainforest is to not only the people living in the rainforest, but to the plant life and animals who call the rainforest home as well.

According to an article published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, the clearing of the forest may be a factor directly affecting the increased number of malaria cases seen in Brazil in 2006.

For whatever reason, one particular species of mosquito frequently carries malaria and that species isn't found deep in the lush jungle of the rainforest, but rather in the cleared areas of the forest.

It's both interesting and scary to think that by taking away the natural habitat of the rainforest, human health could adversely be affected.

Deforestation in Brazil of the Amazon rainforest accounts for nearly 20% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Brazil has taken steps in the last year or two to reduce that number and to have a positive impact on the environment.

Their efforts seem to be taking an effect! Again however, can that remain true for the years to come? Brazil still needs to boost the economy and keep the country moving forward...but is the only way to do that to devastate and destroy the rainforest in the name of progress?

That will be the quandary that Brazil's government will continually revisit until a better way of furthering the economy of the country while somehow preserving the integrity of the rainforest is discovered.

View the original article here

Despite much exploration and scientific study, innumerable tropical rainforest facts are yet unknown to us. One thing we do know for sure is that we need to know more and the rainforests will always have more to teach us.

Rainforests around the globe can offer us unique insight into the history of our planet, both geologically and ecologically.

These amazing forests are all positioned near the equator, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, which is why we call them “tropical”. Year-round warmth from the Sun has made this belt around the Earth a refuge for animal and plant life, even through periods of drastic climate change such as ice ages.

While most plant and animal species elsewhere had to evolve to adverse weather conditions or face extinction, those in wet tropical areas have benefited from a stable climate and evolved through competition with each other.

Some of the most interesting tropical rainforest facts show the curious inter-relationships developed between different species for mutual survival, observable in rainforests around the world.

You can find rainforest conditions throughout the tropical band, wherever the climate is wet enough and the topography is right. Annual rainfall must be at least 80 inches, in a low-lying landscape usually below 3,000 feet, for a rainforest to develop and be sustained.

Today, these areas include parts of Africa, Madagascar, India, Southeast Asia, and Central America. The country with the most rainforest territory within its borders is Brazil, which hosts 60% of the Amazon rainforest.

People sometimes call the rainforest a jungle, but this is not always correct. Technically, the jungle is only part of the rainforest, and a less common part in fact. “Jungle” is a term that describes the overgrowth of plants beneath the canopy, but this growth is only enabled where more-than-normal sunlight reaches the undergrowth area.

Rainforests have more biodiversity than all other biomes on Earth combined. About 80% of unique species of plants and animals have been discovered in these rich environments.

Most of the ground nutrients of the forest are found only in the top 2 inches of the soil. This has caused the rainforest trees to grow their roots near and above the surface instead of reaching deeper into the dirt for minerals as trees do elsewhere.

There are multiple levels in a rainforest, from the highest emergent level of the trees to the understory and surface growth, each has evolved a mini-ecosystem of its own. Many creatures, like some sloths, never have to leave the treetops.

Plant leaves develop differently in the upper and lower levels of the rainforest. In the shade beneath the canopy, leaves grow larger and darker, often with the ability to pivot in order to collect more sunlight. Leaves in the emergent layer grow a drip-tip which allows more water to run off and reduces their vulnerability to mold and fungi. Even with drip-tips, it can take up to 10 minutes for the rain to travel through the trees.

New species of plants and animals are discovered every year in rainforests worldwide. In the summer of 2011, for instance, a World Wildlife Fund expedition discovered a new species of titi monkey in the Mato Grasso region of Brazil. Several species of bio-luminescent mushrooms were identified in 2009 by scientists in different rainforests, including Mycena luxaeterna in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Mycena silvaelucens in Borneo, Malaysia.

A rainforest environment can also exist on a mountaintop, fed by moisture in the air, rather than falling rain. Some “cloud forests” are found in Costa Rica and Jamaica. The Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary is a popular tourist site on the big island of Hawaii.

Plants in the rainforest have different life cycles, blooming and bearing their fruit at different times throughout the year, based on the normal weather patterns.

Many pharmaceutical drugs were derived from rainforest plants. Only a tiny fraction of rainforest flora has been studied for medicinal properties however.

The newly discovered titi monkey species mentioned above was found in an area called the “Deforestation Crescent”, where much of the forest has been logged and cleared for cattle ranches over the past few decades.

Rare animals, like the Silvery Gibbon monkeys of Indonesia, are often targeted by poachers. There are only about 2,000 wild silvery gibbons estimated to exist today, and these monogamous monkeys don't breed so willingly in captivity.

There were 7 to 10 million natives living in the rainforest before European explorers arrived. Today there are comparatively very small pockets of indigenous people left. Many of those who still live in the forest have been greatly affected by modern civilization, but struggle to retain their ancestral knowledge and culture.

Rainforests cover only about 6% of the world's surface, but scientists say they once covered almost 15%. The remaining rainforests, they estimate, could be gone in a half-century.

More than an acre of forest is lost every second, when people and businesses are focused more on short-term profits and production than its long-term implications.

Despite the common understanding that trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere, some scientific studies paid for by large multinational corporations have tried to say Earth's rainforests are not the “lungs of the world”, but rather “oxygen neutral” in an attempt to manipulate tropical rainforest facts with new and questionable terminology.

Rainforests have survived natural destruction by volcanoes and global climate change in the past, but widespread deforestation causes changes too quickly for plants and animals to adapt. Harmful human activities pose a greater risk of extinction and, unlike Earth's natural environmental processes, our impact can be controlled and minimized.

Worldwide concern about Earth's environment and ecosystem has inspired a great debate over modern civilization's role in the balance.

As every plant and animal has a place and a purpose in the delicate ecosystem, so do humans. We have more power to impact the planet on a large scale than any other creature, with that power comes responsibility

We can benefit more from expanding our understanding and discovering new tropical rainforest facts than we can by over-using the abundant physical resources of rainforest regions.

View the original article here

Amazon rainforest destruction in Brazil is reducing the acreage of one of the largest rainforests in the world at an alarming rate.

This is cause for concern not only for the people in Brazil but for people everywhere who reap the natural benefits from the rainforest. It is not just a Brazil problem, but a world problem.

The air we breathe comes from the rainforest or at least some of it. Oxygen is created by recycling carbon dioxide, a process done by plants. Since the rainforest covers over a billion acres, it processes over twenty percent of oxygen used throughout the world.

Twenty-five percent of medicines used in the western hemisphere come from ingredients found in the rainforest. There are many more that have remained undiscovered by scientists. Experts believe that the rainforest may contain plants to aid in developing medicines for the treatment and cure of viruses, cancers, and even AIDS. Unfortunately, the rainforest destruction could kill those plants before they are ever found.

Much of the diet of most developed countries has come from Brazil. It is home to fruits such as figs, oranges, and pineapples. You will also find corn, rice, potatoes, and spices, along with Brazil nuts and cashews.

The amount of plants and animals that we are aware of is a tiny percentage of what lives in the rainforest. There are many untapped resources that could be beneficial to mankind once they are discovered. For instance, we use around 200 kinds of fruits found in the rainforests, but there are over 3,000. The Indian tribes use around 2,000, which tells us there many more that we could be using to help feed people.

Deforestation began in the 1940s but grew in the 1960s as cattle farmers moved there to take advantage of the rise in the price of beef. Today, the Amazon has lost approximately twenty percent of its original ground.

Brazil is the top exporter of soybeans, which are often grown by farmers in the rainforest. Because the ground is only fertile for a few years, farmers keep clearing more land to maintain their income from crops.

Logging is also responsible for much of the rainforest destruction. Not only are trees felled for the wood they provide, but many others are to create a path out of the forest. Most logging companies do not participate in selective logging, which is thought to prevent complete deforestation. Even those who do, disturb numerous acres as they select specific species of trees for harvest.

Another rampant problem in the rainforest is illegal logging. It is easy to obtain a fake logging certificate and harvest trees with many illegal methods. The government is seeking to change that by issuing electronic certificates. They have seized large numbers of illegal equipment and logs, but the problem still continues.

Because of the attention that deforestation has gotten in recent years, the rate has dropped dramatically. In 2009, only 7,000 square kilometers were lost. This is a seventy-five percent drop from the highest point in 2004, when it was over 24,000 kilometers.

While things have begun to improve in limiting deforestation, the rainforest has lost nearly one million acres since the process started. This has affected the climate not only in Brazil, but around the world.

There are many ways that people can help preserve the rainforest while halting the rainforest destruction. One way is by making the land that has been cleared more profitable. Through the use of improved technology, farmers can increase their productivity without the need to clear more land.

Replanting the forest is one of the most important steps in preserving it. In areas where some species still survive, they can repopulate if trees and other plants are replanted and cared for until they can sustain themselves. Animals and other creatures that are in danger of extinction can return to that area.

Protected areas need to be expanded and more enforcement agents hired to patrol the area. More funds are needed to allow this to happen. At the same time, involvement by those who live in the area would have a major impact.

One of the best ways to decrease the rainforest destruction is by educating the people who live in the rainforest on the proper way to care for their farms and the land that surrounds them.

Preserving the rainforest is going to take more than individual efforts. Large companies need to take a stand against the mistreatment of nature. The only motivation they will have to do that is if customers cut down their use of products and boycott items made by those companies.

If large companies are pressured to make changes by their customers, they will in turn pressure the government to make changes. It is a long process to change the mindset of people when money is involved.

An initiative that is currently being considered by lawmakers in the United States could have a definite impact on the Brazilian rainforest. Billions of dollars could be sent to countries for preserving their rainforests, protecting ecosystems, providing erosion control, and other measures designed to protect the natural habitat that everyone benefits from.

The US would be joining a worldwide response initiated by the UN to help prevent continued rainforest destruction. The initiative is called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation Forest Degradation and is called REDD for short. Many countries would be able to afford to implement plans that they cannot do today.

The rainforest is not just important to the countries where it is located, but to people in many other countries. If the rainforest continues to be lost, changes will be seen throughout the world. This requires everyone to get involved to save one of the earth’s most valuable resources.

View the original article here

Deforestation in Brazil has slowed a bit in the last few years, but the devastation that is currently taking place within the rainforest still threatens the well being of the native people, animals, and plant life living in the rainforest.

Deforestation also affects the whole economy of Brazil. Ironically, when areas of the rainforest are destroyed, it is typically so that the economy can grow stronger in some way, to make room for new businesses, ranches, or commercial ventures.

Only in recent years are people coming to understand the major global impact of destroying large areas of the world's forests, which house a huge number of precious species of animal and plant life.

There are so many medicinal herbs and plants in the rainforest that can be used to treat all manner of illness and disease, and that also have many other practical uses as foods and other items.

There are so many sustainable ways to benefit from the treasures of the Amazon without contributing to deforestation in Brazil.

Some of my favorite foods that are originally from the rainforest include: Brazil nuts - yum! Bananas Coffee Chocolate Avocadoes Yerba Mate tea - my favorite, it is energizing without giving you a caffeine buzz Guaran? - don't drink too much of this or you might feel wired! A?ai - a healthy fruit that many Brazilians love

In some parts of the Amazon in Brazil, lemons and green peppers grow abundantly, providing health vitamin C in the local diet that what would otherwise be lacking in fruits and vegetables.

When I was visiting there, we ate mostly rice and beans and bananas. I really appreciated the lemons, also called limao which were small, round and with orange colored rinds.

There are also many other treasures from the rainforest that contribute to a healthy and sustainable econonmy.

For example, kapok is a fluffly white fiber that grows from the rainforest kapok tree nut, and can be used to create healthy, hypoallergenic pillows, matresses, upholstery and insulation. Natural rubber which is called Seringueira in Brazil, is used for many commercial purposes and is not being used for healthy latex mattresses.

Patau? palm provides a healthy, protein rich fruit, a delicious oil similar to olive oil, and fibers for weaving and for created thatched roofs in local buildings.

The Babassu palm provides a number of different resources to people in the amazon rainforest such as fruit, oil, flour and fibers for weaving.

Babassu trees are slow growing and they have the potential to help restore degrated rainforest lands, thus contributing to a sustainable and healthy rainforest.

Other products that are grown and harvested in the rainforest include luxurious nut butters that are used for cosmetic purposes such as: Murumuru butter Illipe Butter Cocoa butter

As you can see, there are so many opportunities to find other ways to prosper economically without creating more deforestation in Brazil.

1960s - The devastation of the natural habitat of the rainforest in Brazil began a little over 40 years ago. At that time, during the 1960s, ranchers were trying to make a go of it by clearing rainforest acreage to support cattle.

They raised the cattle and then sold it to make a profit. Also during that time, colonists were entering the rainforest with hopes of making a living with crop farming.

The colonists used the slash and burn method to clear the land and planted crops.

The government of Brazil actually helped the process of deforestation by passing a policy that stated if a person lives on and works a piece of land for a minimum of 366 days, he owns it after 5 years. Thousands of acres were given away to peasant farmers who continually cleared the land to plant crops.

Unfortunately, agriculture is not the most successful venture in the Amazon rainforest because the land will only support and encourage growth for a short time.

The farmers were forced to slash and burn more and more acreage just to have a place to plant their crops. The result of this was the elimination of many acres of rainforest and the destruction of all animal and plant life in these areas, further contributing to the deforestation in Brazil.

1970s - Construction began on the Trans-Amazon Highway, which was intended to connect several areas in Brazil and make getting from one location to another a lot easier.

The funds ran out before it was completed, so part of the highway is simply dirt which turns into a mud pit during the rainy season, ironically making travel more difficult, not easier.

Acres of rainforest were torn down so the road could go through resulting in more deforestation in Brazil.

In conjunction with the highway construction, timber and mining companies were entering the country to find ways of extracting Brazil's natural resources for profit.

Roads are one of the most destructive things to happen to the rainforest and these companies needed a lot of them to move in large equipment and personnel to do their jobs.

1980s - Brazil was in debt to other countries and needed a way to pay off that debt, so they allowed timber companies to come into the country and take timber from the rainforest.

The amount of timber and deforestation taking place during the decade between 1980 and 1990 was unbelievable. Rainforest acreage equal to the acreage found in Wales, Scotland, and England was removed each year!

Up to Current Day - within recent times, Brazil has become one of the largest contributors to the world in the way of soybean supply. The newest soybean to hit the market can flourish in the rainforest!

It is a new variety cleverly developed by scientists in Brazil who are always looking for new ways to boost the economy and take advantage of the opportunities around the country.

Brazil stands to become possibly the world leader in soybean export, but that also depends on how much of the rainforest will have to remain intact in order for these soybeans to grow.

It was mentioned previously that the deforestation in Brazil is rather an ironic situation. Why is that true? Take the soybean exporting for example.

The soybeans can thrive in a rainforest environment, so they must be grown in that environment. But, to plant the soybeans, the land must be cleared and cultivated and roads must be forged so that trucks and farming equipment can reach the fields for harvesting.

On one hand, the soybeans provide income for the country of Brazil, but on the other hand, the rainforest has to be destroyed in order to do that. Do you see the quandary?

It's the same for the other commercial ventures like mining, logging, and farming. It takes the deforestation of the rainforest in order to make money for the country.

The effects of the deforestation in Brazil reach beyond the country's economy. The effect on the animal and plant life in the rainforest is inescapable unless the devastation is stopped completely. Did you know the rainforest is home to tropical animals and plants that don't live anywhere else on the planet?

Nearly half of the country of Brazil is covered in rainforest, so you can imagine how detrimental the clearing and deforestation of the rainforest is to not only the people living in the rainforest, but to the plant life and animals who call the rainforest home as well.

According to an article published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, the clearing of the forest may be a factor directly affecting the increased number of malaria cases seen in Brazil in 2006.

For whatever reason, one particular species of mosquito frequently carries malaria and that species isn't found deep in the lush jungle of the rainforest, but rather in the cleared areas of the forest.

It's both interesting and scary to think that by taking away the natural habitat of the rainforest, human health could adversely be affected.

Deforestation in Brazil of the Amazon rainforest accounts for nearly 20% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Brazil has taken steps in the last year or two to reduce that number and to have a positive impact on the environment.

Their efforts seem to be taking an effect! Again however, can that remain true for the years to come? Brazil still needs to boost the economy and keep the country moving forward...but is the only way to do that to devastate and destroy the rainforest in the name of progress?

That will be the quandary that Brazil's government will continually revisit until a better way of furthering the economy of the country while somehow preserving the integrity of the rainforest is discovered.

View the original article here

Deforestation in Brazil has slowed a bit in the last few years, but the devastation that is currently taking place within the rainforest still threatens the well being of the native people, animals, and plant life living in the rainforest.

Deforestation also affects the whole economy of Brazil. Ironically, when areas of the rainforest are destroyed, it is typically so that the economy can grow stronger in some way, to make room for new businesses, ranches, or commercial ventures.

Only in recent years are people coming to understand the major global impact of destroying large areas of the world's forests, which house a huge number of precious species of animal and plant life.

There are so many medicinal herbs and plants in the rainforest that can be used to treat all manner of illness and disease, and that also have many other practical uses as foods and other items.

There are so many sustainable ways to benefit from the treasures of the Amazon without contributing to deforestation in Brazil.

Some of my favorite foods that are originally from the rainforest include: Brazil nuts - yum! Bananas Coffee Chocolate Avocadoes Yerba Mate tea - my favorite, it is energizing without giving you a caffeine buzz Guaran? - don't drink too much of this or you might feel wired! A?ai - a healthy fruit that many Brazilians love

In some parts of the Amazon in Brazil, lemons and green peppers grow abundantly, providing health vitamin C in the local diet that what would otherwise be lacking in fruits and vegetables.

When I was visiting there, we ate mostly rice and beans and bananas. I really appreciated the lemons, also called limao which were small, round and with orange colored rinds.

There are also many other treasures from the rainforest that contribute to a healthy and sustainable econonmy.

For example, kapok is a fluffly white fiber that grows from the rainforest kapok tree nut, and can be used to create healthy, hypoallergenic pillows, matresses, upholstery and insulation. Natural rubber which is called Seringueira in Brazil, is used for many commercial purposes and is not being used for healthy latex mattresses.

Patau? palm provides a healthy, protein rich fruit, a delicious oil similar to olive oil, and fibers for weaving and for created thatched roofs in local buildings.

The Babassu palm provides a number of different resources to people in the amazon rainforest such as fruit, oil, flour and fibers for weaving.

Babassu trees are slow growing and they have the potential to help restore degrated rainforest lands, thus contributing to a sustainable and healthy rainforest.

Other products that are grown and harvested in the rainforest include luxurious nut butters that are used for cosmetic purposes such as: Murumuru butter Illipe Butter Cocoa butter

As you can see, there are so many opportunities to find other ways to prosper economically without creating more deforestation in Brazil.

1960s - The devastation of the natural habitat of the rainforest in Brazil began a little over 40 years ago. At that time, during the 1960s, ranchers were trying to make a go of it by clearing rainforest acreage to support cattle.

They raised the cattle and then sold it to make a profit. Also during that time, colonists were entering the rainforest with hopes of making a living with crop farming.

The colonists used the slash and burn method to clear the land and planted crops.

The government of Brazil actually helped the process of deforestation by passing a policy that stated if a person lives on and works a piece of land for a minimum of 366 days, he owns it after 5 years. Thousands of acres were given away to peasant farmers who continually cleared the land to plant crops.

Unfortunately, agriculture is not the most successful venture in the Amazon rainforest because the land will only support and encourage growth for a short time.

The farmers were forced to slash and burn more and more acreage just to have a place to plant their crops. The result of this was the elimination of many acres of rainforest and the destruction of all animal and plant life in these areas, further contributing to the deforestation in Brazil.

1970s - Construction began on the Trans-Amazon Highway, which was intended to connect several areas in Brazil and make getting from one location to another a lot easier.

The funds ran out before it was completed, so part of the highway is simply dirt which turns into a mud pit during the rainy season, ironically making travel more difficult, not easier.

Acres of rainforest were torn down so the road could go through resulting in more deforestation in Brazil.

In conjunction with the highway construction, timber and mining companies were entering the country to find ways of extracting Brazil's natural resources for profit.

Roads are one of the most destructive things to happen to the rainforest and these companies needed a lot of them to move in large equipment and personnel to do their jobs.

1980s - Brazil was in debt to other countries and needed a way to pay off that debt, so they allowed timber companies to come into the country and take timber from the rainforest.

The amount of timber and deforestation taking place during the decade between 1980 and 1990 was unbelievable. Rainforest acreage equal to the acreage found in Wales, Scotland, and England was removed each year!

Up to Current Day - within recent times, Brazil has become one of the largest contributors to the world in the way of soybean supply. The newest soybean to hit the market can flourish in the rainforest!

It is a new variety cleverly developed by scientists in Brazil who are always looking for new ways to boost the economy and take advantage of the opportunities around the country.

Brazil stands to become possibly the world leader in soybean export, but that also depends on how much of the rainforest will have to remain intact in order for these soybeans to grow.

It was mentioned previously that the deforestation in Brazil is rather an ironic situation. Why is that true? Take the soybean exporting for example.

The soybeans can thrive in a rainforest environment, so they must be grown in that environment. But, to plant the soybeans, the land must be cleared and cultivated and roads must be forged so that trucks and farming equipment can reach the fields for harvesting.

On one hand, the soybeans provide income for the country of Brazil, but on the other hand, the rainforest has to be destroyed in order to do that. Do you see the quandary?

It's the same for the other commercial ventures like mining, logging, and farming. It takes the deforestation of the rainforest in order to make money for the country.

The effects of the deforestation in Brazil reach beyond the country's economy. The effect on the animal and plant life in the rainforest is inescapable unless the devastation is stopped completely. Did you know the rainforest is home to tropical animals and plants that don't live anywhere else on the planet?

Nearly half of the country of Brazil is covered in rainforest, so you can imagine how detrimental the clearing and deforestation of the rainforest is to not only the people living in the rainforest, but to the plant life and animals who call the rainforest home as well.

According to an article published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, the clearing of the forest may be a factor directly affecting the increased number of malaria cases seen in Brazil in 2006.

For whatever reason, one particular species of mosquito frequently carries malaria and that species isn't found deep in the lush jungle of the rainforest, but rather in the cleared areas of the forest.

It's both interesting and scary to think that by taking away the natural habitat of the rainforest, human health could adversely be affected.

Deforestation in Brazil of the Amazon rainforest accounts for nearly 20% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Brazil has taken steps in the last year or two to reduce that number and to have a positive impact on the environment.

Their efforts seem to be taking an effect! Again however, can that remain true for the years to come? Brazil still needs to boost the economy and keep the country moving forward...but is the only way to do that to devastate and destroy the rainforest in the name of progress?

That will be the quandary that Brazil's government will continually revisit until a better way of furthering the economy of the country while somehow preserving the integrity of the rainforest is discovered.

View the original article here