Can Deforestation In Brazil’s Amazonian Rainforest Be Stopped?

The Amazon Fund, a U.S. non-profit organization with a presence in Brazil, announced this week it will distribute $40 million to five non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The five NGOs will work on projects that monitor and protect forests, use land responsible, and give payments to ranchers to avoid deforestation. The $40 million comes from $110 million raised from Norway, who committed $125 million for next year and up to one billion by 2016.

In President Obama’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, he mentioned the relationship between Norway and Brazil:

“…I’m very impressed with the model that has been built between Norway and Brazil that allows for effective monitoring and ensures that we are making progress in avoiding deforestation of the Amazon. And we all understand that it’s probably the most cost-effective way for us to address the issue of climate change—having an effective set of mechanisms in place to avoid further deforestation and hopefully to plant new trees.”

Brazil is the biggest deforester

Brazil has been the biggest deforester during the past decade. In fact, about 60 percent of Brazil’s carbon emissions are from forest loss. Growth in three sectors is responsible for the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon: the cattle sector, industrial logging, and soy farming. According to a white paper by Rhett A. Butler and William F. Laurance titled, Conserving Tropical Forests, “large scale ranching has exploded” in the Brazilian Amazon. The number of cattle has more than tripled since 1990, while industrial logging and soy farming also grew.

The cattle sector is the “largest drive of deforestation in the world,” according to a Greenpeace report released last summer, Slaughtering the Amazon. The cattle sector is responsible for one in every eight hectares of forests destroyed globally, totaling 14 percent of the world’s annual deforestation. The cattle sector is also responsible for 80 percent of deforestation in the Amazon. The Amazon rainforest stores estimated 80 to 120 billion tons of carbon, and 50 times the annual GHG emissions in U.S. would be emitted if destroyed. The Brazil Amazon has the highest annual average of deforestation by area in the world.

When Greenpeace’s report came out last summer it cited big brands such as Nike, Toyota and Prada as contributing to the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest. As a result, large beef and leather buyers suspended contracts with suppliers “associated with Amazon forest clearing,” according to an article by Mongabay.com. Government ministers joined the private sector in demanding “new chain-of-custody controls for suppliers.” The largest cattle companies then announced a moratorium on Amazon deforestation and promised to track supply chains.

Brazilian government cracking down on deforestation

Last month, the Brazilian government pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 36 percent or more over levels projected for 2020. The Nature Conservancy, an American environmental group, is helping the government set up a system to record the perimeters of ranches and farms on GPS units and put them on a satellite database. The system will cost $15 to $20 million.

David Cleary, Nature Conservancy’s director of sustainable harvest, pointed out that there are over 10,000 ranches in Brazilian Amazon covering large sections of land. One- third of ranches owned by large slaughterhouses are likely to cooperate with the monitoring program, Cleary said.

“I think some will go the path of responsible production because it does make economic sense, but there will always be outsiders, especially on the frontiers where there is a low state presence and a history of land grabbing and clandestine activity,” Cleary added.

Over the year ending last July, 46 percent less forests were cleared, which is the lowest rate since 1988 when the government began monitoring deforestation. The Nature Conservancy is working with the government to finance the purchase of land not yet deforested from soybean farmers, called Forest Compensation Fund.

“Many of the more forward-looking farmers are already looking to protect themselves against worries that their products could be tainted by deforestation,” Cleary said. “For soy farmers, it is cheaper now to be in compliance than to take the risk of being on the wrong side of the law.”

Read more: amazon, brazil, deforestation, global warming, rainforest

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Danielle W.

10:34PM PST on Dec 31, 2009

let's do it!

send a green star

Teresa W.

10:56AM PST on Dec 31, 2009

But, unfortunately, Moertl may be right...

10:55AM PST on Dec 31, 2009

Quoting Ben Oscarsito, I must say: 'plant trees, plant trees, plant trees'.

10:54AM PST on Dec 31, 2009

That must be stopped!

pierluigi b.

12:39AM PST on Dec 28, 2009

We need trees!

Moertl M.

12:48AM PST on Dec 19, 2009

Nothing will stop anything. Money rules and will continue to rule the world. As long as these f u (ss) ing people (lobbies) don't have no other principles than exploit other men and nature only a big catastrophe could (or the allmighty if he exists) stop these raging madness on earth.

Susan Suni I.

11:57AM PST on Dec 14, 2009

YAY, YAY, YAY SANDRA K.!!!!!!! AND ALICIA V. TOO!!!!
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT IDEA!!!! USE THAT VOICE OF YOURS, AND LET PEOPLE KNOW JUST HOW YOU FEEL!!!!!!
Alicia, I do not have a car either, and I live in California - - - - - - - - - - - seemingly the car-buying capital of the world.
STEVE S. In case you haven't noticed, we ARE fighting for food and water here in California. Our crops all died off due to the drought that won't let go of us. And southern California wants all of our water, up here in the north of the state!!!!! It is already happening!!!!! If we don't ALL OF US get with it, and work on getting global warming stopped, we will all die!!!!!! And we will take all of the other life-forms on this planet with us!!! If humans die off, I won't mind in the least, if the rest of the species here will survive!!!!!!!!!!

11:39AM PST on Dec 14, 2009

Virginia of Argentina - - - - - tell your government that you do not want any more people from China to come there and proliferate!!!
You have a voice!!!!! Gather your voices together, and make them count in BIG WAYS!!!!!!
For now, please understand that, when the rain forests are gone, SO IS THE RAIN!!!!!! WHEN THE RAIN IS GONE, SO IS THE DRINKING WATER, AND THE WATER TO GROW OUR CROPS SO WE MAY EAT!!!!!!! THIS IS WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT!!!!! I am concerned about the Chinese too. They don't seem to understand that they can't just move to another country and then try to fill that country with fellow Chinese - - - - maybe to take over. If they want to be there, they must respect your customs, population, and your resources. They can't just go there and take things over. There is a reason why some fear them or are suspicious of them. They are huge, and spreading. They should have the same respect for your resources as they did for what was there for them in China!!! We must be very discreet, but very strong. The need to know they have a responsibility , as immigrants, to respect others. Will your government let you speak out in public about this???? Do you have the same kind of strong voice that Americans have?? I encourage you to use this voice, if it is there, and if you, personally can't, join a group, or start a group to gain a bigger voice. I wish you all of the luck in the world, and I will be praying for yo!!!!!!!!!

Maria H.

2:53AM PST on Dec 14, 2009

So Norway cares about Brazilian rainforests... but not whales. Interesting.

Robert D.

5:41PM PST on Dec 13, 2009

It is good that these countries that donate the money to help the poorer ones. But who is to say that the money gets taken and the deforestation continues, remember greed is greed. The bottom line is the end cannot come fast enough and when it does they that are responsible aren't going to escape it.