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Cattle Ranching
Ranching is one of the main economic activities in nearly all the eight countries in the Amazon region. Brazil accounts for nearly 85% of the cattle herd in the Amazon (WWF, 2014). Other countries with large herds of cattle include Peru and Bolivia. Ranching in the Amazon is promoted by the rising demand for high quality beef in foreign markets such as the US, Europe, and China. Brazil is the leading exporter of beef in the Amazon region due to the low value of its currency (WWF, 2014). In particular, Brazil devalued its currency, thereby making its beef to be very cheap in foreign markets. The resulting increase in demand for beef promotes cattle ranching in Brazil.
Extensive ranching is detrimental to the environment since it promotes rapid deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Large parts of the forest have been cleared in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia to facilitate cattle ranching. Deforestation has led to increased emission of carbon. Currently, the Amazon countries account for 3.4% of the total world carbon emission due to the deforestation caused by ranchers (WWF, 2014). Moreover, Brazil and Bolivia have constructed highways through the Amazon forest to facilitate transportation of beef and logs at a low cost. This has led to destruction of the habitats of thousands of animal species in the forest.
Cattle pasture is one of the major causes of fire that often destroy wildlife and vegetation in the Amazon during dry seasons. In addition, uncontrolled grazing in Peru and Bolivia has led to degradation of riparian and aquatic ecosystems in the region. Soil erosion has also increased in the region due to uncontrolled grazing.
Mechanized Agriculture
Mechanized agriculture in the Amazon region is practiced by large-scale farmers in Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia, as well as, small-scale farmers in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Soybean is the most important export crop in the Amazon region. The largest producers of the crop are Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. Increased production of soybean is promoted by the high demand in countries such as the US and China. For instance, the demand for the crop is expected to increase by 60% in the international market by 2020 (WWF, 2014). This means that Amazon countries will continue to produce and export large quantities of soybean to increase their foreign exchange earnings.
Despite being profitable, international soybean trade has the following negative effects on the environment. First, soybean cultivation has become the second major cause of deforestation in the Amazon region. Large-scale farmers have cleared part of the Amazon forest to increase soybean acreage (Diaz & Nepstad, 2009). In Brazil, destruction of the forest by farmers is encouraged by the law, which allows individuals to cut up to 20% of the trees in private property. In Bolivia and Peru, much of the forest has been lost to farmers due to corruption and poor land tenure systems.
Apart from deforestation, production of soybean has led to increased soil erosion and siltation of rivers. In addition, the use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers in soybean production has led to pollution of rivers (Diaz & Nepstad, 2009). Water pollution has caused a significant loss of aquatic life in the Amazon. In particular, the population of several species of fish in various rivers has reduced due to the diseases caused by water pollution.
Oil Exploration
Production of oil for the export market is a major economic activity in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia. In Ecuador, oil export earnings fund nearly fifty percent of the national budget. Thus, the government has to promote oil production to avoid huge national budget deficits. Venezuela is one of the largest producers of oil in the world. Oil exports account for over 80% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings (Murphy, 2009). Venezuela produces heavy oil, which has to be sold at a reduced price to increase sales. The low price has resulted into high demand for the country’s oil in foreign markets. Colombia also depends on oil export earnings to finance its national budget.
Most of the oil wells in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia are located in the Amazon forest (Finer & Ross, 2008). Consequently, oil exploration in these countries has negatively affected the environment in the following ways. To begin with, oil companies have destroyed thousands of trees in the Amazon to facilitate drilling of oil. In addition, oil exploration activities involve the use of machines that emit a lot of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
In Ecuador, wastes from oil fields have always been disposed in holes within the Amazon forest. This has resulted into contamination of the soil in the forest. Consequently, various plants have died due to the toxic substances that are found in oil wastes. In Venezuela, oil and gas pipes have been constructed through the Amazon forest to reduce the cost of transporting oil to the export market (Murphy, 2009). Similarly, roads have been constructed in Colombia to promote oil exploration in the Amazon. Moreover, Venezuela and Colombia have experienced oil spills in the Amazon due to poor environmental regulations. The oil spills have polluted the soil and rivers in the forest, thereby destroying plants and animals.
Extraction of Minerals
In the last three decades, the demand for minerals such as gold, copper, and diamond increased significantly in the international market. The increase is attributed to depletion of mineral deposits in Africa and Asia, as well as, improved economic growth. Guyana and Suriname are among the major countries in the Amazon region that depend on gold and diamond export earnings to boost economic growth. Gold and diamond from the two countries have a ready market in Europe and the US where they fetch high prices (Williams & Hentschel, 2013). Thus, high demand and prices in the international market are the main factors that promote mining of gold and diamond in Suriname and Guyana.
Despite being lucrative, international gold and diamond trade activities have the following negative environmental effects in Suriname and Guyana. To begin with, mining companies are destroying vegetation in the Amazon to access new mining fields (Williams & Hentschel, 2013). In addition, mining has led to destruction of animal habitats and pollution of water.
In Guyana, the wastes from mining fields are often disposed in unsafe landfills. The resulting pollution of the soil threatens the survival of plants in the Amazon forest (Williams & Hentschel, 2013). In Suriname, mining companies and individuals have taken advantage of the country’s weak law enforcement system to engage in illegal mining activities. This has led to extensive destruction of vegetation and contamination of rivers in the Amazon.
References
Diaz, M., & Nepstad, D. (2009). The environmental impacts of soybean expansion and infrastructure development in Brazil’s Amazon Basin. Web.
Finer, M., & Ross, C. (2008). Oil and gas projects in the western Amazon: Threats to wilderness, biodiversity, and indigenous people. Web.
Murphy, L. (2009). Economic development and environmental threats: Tipping the balance in Venezuela. Web.
Williams, P., & Hentschel, T. (2013). Guyana’s extractive industry sector. Web.
WWF. (2014). Problems in the Amazon. Web.
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