212 Amazonian activists murdered since 1996
Hundreds more living under the threat of assassination
More than 20% of the Amazon Rainforest has already disappeared
If deforestation continues at its current rate, loss of habitat could endanger more than 100 native species
Amazon Rainforest:
—five-and-a-half million square kilometres / 1.4 billion acres
—60% contained in Brazil, home to 1/3 of world’s rainforests.
At Odds:
—preservation versus obliteration;
—long-term sustainability versus short-term profitability
Brazil’s Economy:
—1988-1991: decreased deforestation—economic slowdown
—1993-1998: increased deforestation—rapid economic growth
—World’s second-largest producer of beef and top exporter
The Deforestation Process:
—Loggers come and leave with the most valuable trees;
—Cattle ranchers move in and replace forest with pasture;
The Land:
—Amazon residents, pressed by economic hardships and no government support sell land to ranchers or allow the loggers to move in;—‘grileiros’: land-grabbers who take illegal possession through forged documents or by force and intimidation;
—Vastness of Amazon: difficult-to-impossible to enforce regulations or police illegal activity, including gun violence;
Other Crimes:
—Inhumane working and living conditions for loggers as well;
—Modern Slavery: impoverished migrant workers forced to clear therainforest in order to pay off debts to their employers;
—18,000 modern-day slaves freed by Brazil’s government between 2005-2010;
—Loggers moving deeper into the forest where defenders have been obliterated and new ones fear to venture.
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Complied from “In Pictures: Pitting Preservation Against Destruction”, Aljezeera
WATCH THE SLIDESHOW AT ALJEZEERA
For more information or to get involved, visit RAN Rainforest Action Network
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