Addressing Environmental Issues in Amazon Rainforest - Book Report/Review Example

?Approaches in Addressing Environmental Issues in Amazon Rainforest Introduction The Amazon Rainforest spans in nine countries: Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana of about 1.4 billion acres. It is also known as the Amazon Jungle, 690% of which were located in Brazil, 13% in Peru, and the remaining spread across the rest. It is home to the largest diverse species of plants and animals, about one in ten in the world, and inhabited by humans by 1250 AD estimated of 0.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (Heckenberger, Kuikuro, Kuikuro, Russell, Scmidt, Fausto, and Franchetto, 1712). Deforestation for livestock pasture has been the biggest cause since in 1991, and about 227,000 sq mi had been converted as such since (Steinfeld, Gerber, Wassenaar, and Castle, P 4). IT has ben suggested that the sustainable protection of the rainforest is equivalent to $6820 in Peruvian Amazon, and decreases by activity type (Peters, Gentry, and Mendelson, 656). In addition to threatened ecology and natural environment, the deforestation of the Amazon meant the disappearance of indigenous communities residing in it including the Urarina (Dean, 45). The role of the Amazon and the rest of the forested areas of the world are of critical condition at the moment as rising global temperatures, melting ice blocks, water, wind, and earth movements warn humanity in gigantic proportions. The maintenance of a sustainable environment, which was ignored until recently, has linked the rainforest to a vital role in the current earth condition. Various technological methods were already adopted and in place: alternative energy sources such as wind and sun, carbon emission control to the end of trading emissions, and other innovative approaches that border on absurdity such as carbon capture and production of mechanical trees. However, these methods signify the reluctance of many major actors, mainly government leaders and the businesses they support or who support them, to adopt aggressive and sincere methods to address problems. This paper will explore two books and their positions to signify the ever-changing approaches to environmentalism as well as the role of other factors on the matter. Discussion Deforestation in Brazil was thoroughly documented and explored by Heicht and Cockburn in their 1989 book The fate of the forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon. The first chapter “The Forests of Their Desires” narrated the history of the New World discovery by the Old World which soon fought over it including power brokers such as Rodigo de Borgia or Pope Alexander VI, Portuguese, Dutch, French and German competition against the Iberians who were soon driven out or obliterated to extinction. This portion also documented the vast differences between the discovered Amazon and the new Amazon, and the colonizers’ failure to set the region alone to tell its own story. The second chapter “The Realm of Nature” provides the physical geography of the region with its riverine systems and biotic diversity. In chapter 3’s “The Heritage of Fire”, the force has been considered nurturing with the Kayapo Indians, but destructive among the developers, ranchers and peasant colonizers leading to biotic extinction. The bulk of the book delved into the history of exploitation and resource extraction in the region starting with the rubber boom and to span 50 years including the military-imposed agribusiness solutions starting in 1964. Vast areas of the Amazon were toppled for ranches, gold-mining, and other businesses. Local resistance and possible redemption were also noted in these chapters. The next chapter “The Defenders of the Amazon” told of the locals who have banded together to defend their right of existence against seringueros or rubber tappers. The locals mostly gather forest foods, hunt and fish or farm a little for their living but their livelihood was threatened by the development of the rubber boom. The authors view them as the natural defenders of the forest as they expressed doubt about First World prescription for conservation. However, the authors also prescribed their own, advocating for the self-management of locals and their traditional methods, rubber tappers, establishment of extractive reserves, elimination of debt peonage and middlemen as well as “popular control over the means of production and distribution of forest commodities,” (189). Some of the corporate exploitations presented include rubber production and cattle-ranching which massively decreased the value of the rainforest. The authors suggested that aside from the devastating effects of deforestation on natural environment, flora and fauna, native Indians and caboclos were also displaced away from their traditional lands. They argued that the commercial basis for forest clearance was narrow, and an expression of the area’s political and economic stance. It also debated the advantage of the proposals and projects of technocrats and planners from road systems to agro-ecological zones and national parks considered to be ill-fitting for the social realities of the Amazon. They suggested that solutions for the escalating Amazon problems lie on the forest peoples who have been adept at handling the forest for a long time now. It is not enough that extractive reserves are adopted. Instead, inherited structural problems and property must address the socialist ecology in order to create sustainable results (Heicht and Cockburn, 138). Political Ecology suggests the relations between the ecological social sciences and political economy. It provides their roles in environmental degradation, marginalization, conservation, and other social issues relating to the environment. Its relevance in addressing environmental concerns stems from its provision of alternatives in the understanding of many options such as better ones, less coercive, less exploitative, and sustainable ways to do things (Robbins, 12). The book provides a comprehensive approach towards addressing environmental problems. One chapter, “Trees with deep roots,” (Robbins, 17) a parallel approach of providing the role of local communities in addressing the sustainable environment was presented. One portion assailed and trashed Darwin’s natural selection, with the question “Why feed the poor when after all we’d all be better off as a species if they were dead?” (18). The book echoed the relevance of Peter Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution, suggesting that “while competition may occur between species and between some individuals within species, cooperation between individuals is the key to survival and a central mechanism in natural selection,” (Robbins, 18). Cooperation was highlighted in all forms of social organization from animals to human villages, as much as collective mutual aid and organization between individuals (Robbins, 19). Robbins acknowledged Kropotkin as the first political ecologist. In one area, the concern for the marginalized and disenfranchised communities was highlighted. Its role in enabling exploration of institutional habits and customs while maintaining insufficient government-sponsored solutions provided to them in the guise of science which Kropotkin saw as no science at all (Kropotkin, 261). Kropotkin also highlighted the resourcefulness of communities. Here, Robbins insisted that Kropotkin saw the potential of local subsistence production systems that are cooperative and sustainable whereas authoritative encroachment led to competition and over-extractive methods and disregard for the environment. Here, the parallelism with Hecht and Cockburn’s position were unquestionable. Mary Fairfax Sommerville was also credited by Robbins to influence early exploration of social and environmental concerns (Robbos, 25). He noted her Physical Geography (1848) as a critique of slavery, land theft from aboriginal peoples, and the reckless degradation of environmental systems from overuse, extraction, and introduction of foreign species. In it, too, was the argument about altering the climate through changing water courses, cropping and forest clearing as she assailed reckless colonial states which drove indigenous peoples to extinction (Robbins 25). In the same chapter, George Perkins Marsh’s work The Earth as Modified by Human Action (1989) was also highlighted to have observed the connection between human activities and the ecology, specifically, loss of forest cover and its role in climate, erosion, and siltation of waterways (Robbins, 26). Marsh, however, saw the need for more governmental control on environmental activities thereby providing a variety and diverse propositions since the 19th century. One of the more powerful positions presented by Robbins is the Common Property theory. This notion suggests that fisheries, forests, rangeland, genes, and all other resources including the environmental systems are “traditionally managed as collective or common property. Indian pastures, like Nietschmann’s turtle fisheries, White’s rivers, and Humboldt’s pearl beds, are all complex ecological systems that are difficult to divide into individual units of ownership – to exclude in the language of economics – owing to their spatial and temporal variability,” (Robbins, 43). This approach suggests a communal as well as cooperative efforts between those who benefit from them and a need to insist a role to sustain their continuity. In addition, the explorations of Robbins can help leaders and policymakers understand the complexities of the environment and its development, and probable governance may ensue. However, it also emphasizes the role of communities as drivers of a certain portion of the environment, thus, provide an outline of how the political environment, economic issues and societal regulations may be incorporated to achieve a common goal. Another suggestion of Robbins is the need to understand the unequal opportunities in a society which affects the actions of its members towards the environment. Hence, governance and policy may be directed towards regulating and implementing proper actions as necessary. Analysis The book of Hecht and Cockburn was thoroughly presented complete images, maps, and interviews with experts of the environment, backed by social and scientific research. The rate at which the global warming as well as the environmental imbalances affects people and their single habitat calls for a need to seriously consider the book. Many of the contents have been hailed as laudable (Eden, 211). The goals and aims of the book by Hecht and Cockburn were genuine and most lofty, but it is not certain whether the prescription would be possible or that expected results will be met. First off, Mathewson asks whether the locals will have enough political muscle to influence change in the region, and highlighted, “If Hecht and Cockburn can convince even a few of the need to reorient societal priorities, they will have accomplished a great deal. The argument to include traditional inhabitants in decisions about regional development is persuasive,” (124). The positions of Hecht and Cockburn maybe considered together to address the problems of the Amazon Rainforest. Local actors or communities were already identified to provide impetus and continuing efforts to address the least of details in environment concerns. It is not sufficient that international organizations and their respective country members adopt policies that address environment problems, such as what Hecht and Cockburn have boldly suggested. The support of bigger governing bodies is important to sustain efforts as well as consistent motives and actions. Where efforts are not supported, the sustenance may be more difficult and goals least likely achievable. In contrast, varied and diverse approaches were presented by Robbins as he investigated the historical and scholarly approaches to environmental concerns, focused on what he called political ecology. This approach provided a wide array of options for policy-makers and leaders that would like to address sustainability and the environment in a serious manner, from the Amazon Forests to the deserts of Zulu. Taking into consideration the various observations of social environmentalist since the 1800s, Robbins comprehensive essays will inspire various types of leaders who may view environment issues differently. Conclusion The positions of Hecht and Cockburn complement the explorations of Robbins in addressing environmental issues of the Amazon Rainforest. While the problem presented was regional of scope, Hecht and Cockburn suggested a much localized approach which was also mentioned by Robbins, that is, community level actions to spell radical but sustainable change in the environment. The positions presented by Robbins to address environmental issues is more towards an integrated approach that deals with environment issues from the individuals up to the government organizations and policy-makers. Together, both should consider a cooperative effort to work out consistencies as well as an all-encompassing method to improve current practices towards better results. Of the two, Robbins’ essays were more comprehensive and covered a variety that may be applicable to a certain location but may be adverse to another, thus the need to consider other options. The presence of alternatives made Robbins’ more informing and practical for individuals and policy-makers alike. 2023 words Works Cited: Dean, Bartholomew. (2003) State Power and Indigenous Peoples in Peruvian Amazonia: A Lost Decade, 1990–2000. In The Politics of Ethnicity Indigenous Peoples in Latin American States David Maybury-Lewis, Ed. Harvard University Press Eden, Michael. Review. The Geographical Journal 157 (2). July 1991, 211. Hecht, Susanna and Alexander Cockburn. The Fate of the Forest. University of Chicago Press: 1989. Heckenberger, Michael J.; Kuikuro, Afukaka; Kuikuro, Urissapa Tabata; Russell, J. Christian; Schmidt, Morgan; Fausto, Carlos; Franchetto, Bruna (2003-09-19). "Amazonia 1492: Pristine Forest or Cultural Parkland?". Science 301 (5640): 1710–1714. Mathewson, Kent. Review. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81 (1), March 1991; 169-171 Peters, C.M.; Gentry, A. H. & Mendelsohn, R. O. (1989). "Valuation of an Amazonian forest". Nature 339: 656–657 Paul Robbins. Political Ecology. Blackwell Publishing: 2004 Steinfeld, Henning; Gerber, Pierre; Wassenaar, T. D.; Castel, Vincent (2006). Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed April 2011 from http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm Read More