Large-scale deforestation in the Amazon is an extremely recent phenomenon. Thanks to its vast size similar to that of the lower 48 states of the USA and difficult terrain, the Amazon remained off-limits to all but its indigenous peoples and the most intrepid explorers until well into the 20th century. However, the combination of modern technology such as chainsaws and the commodity needs of industrial society saw large tracts of the Amazon begin to rapidly disappear in the 1960s. Since then the pace of destruction has accelerated as the natural resources of the Amazon basin, including timber, minerals, oil and gas, and land to be converted for agriculture, have been exploited in often unsustainable ways.
Colonization of the rainforest by impoverished migrants from other areas of Amazonian nations, often with little or no knowledge of sustainable tropical horticulture, has also become a widespread problem and has even been encouraged by government policies, notably in Brazil. Although not sanctioned by the Peruvian government, spontaneous colonization by migrants from the Andean highlands is a major problem in Peru; this colonization brings with it a host of problems including illegal logging, fishing, poaching and cottage mining. Colonization is facilitated by roads, often built to service ranches and timber and oil concessions. Meanwhile, native Amazonian communities who traditionally lived with little or no impact on their natural environment are learning unsustainable new Western techniques of harvesting the rainforest’s resources, worsening the problem.
Red and Green Macaw (close-up) 5
Red-brocket Deer 2009-04-09
