BBC's Battle for the Amazon Documentary (Aired 4 April 2005)
Part one
Part two
Part three
Notes:
- In the Amazon there are 1000 species of birds, 60,000 species of plants, 10 million species of insects
- 1/5 of all living being species are found in the Amazon
- 20 million people live in the Amazon
- The Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth
- In the 1980's, every minute the size of 6 football pitches were cleared, which amounted to the size of Belgium in one year
- The first gathering of World Leaders to discuss environment, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, was held in Brasil
- 70% of the Amazon in in Brasil
- Since the 70's-90's the world seems to of forgotten about the Amazon, their interest in it has died.
- As on 2005, 17% of the Brasilian rainforest has been lost, which isn't as much as environmentalists predicted.
- The Amazon homes 40 Indian tribes which have been uncontacted
- In 2002/3 deforestation was at a much higher level, which was linked to economic booms in the Brasilian economy. It is nearly out of control
- Burning forests release Carbon Dioxide which speeds up global warming
- Rainfall in the tropics is the main driver of global atmospheric circulations. Deforestation could affect far away places such as the UK or Canada
- The rainforest is a source of income for Brasil
- The real damage to the rainforest is cattling, with 75% of the rainforest destroyed for cattle pasture
- Mato Grosso is where 43% of deforestation occurred in 80's and 90's, amounting to half the size of France
- Deforestation in the 90's fuelled an agricultural boom. Brasil has now overtaken Australia as the largest exporter of Beef
- Farmers in Mato Grosso choose people over trees "If anyone is feeding the planet, it's here" People are the most important things there
- Blairo Maggi, governor of Mato Grosso, owns one of the largest farming companies in Amazon. Environmentalists hold him responsible for large scale destruction
- Soils on the forest floor aren't very fertile and are quick to exhaust. Environmentalists predicted that 2/3 of the Amazon would be desert by the year 2000. This prediction was evidently an over reaction.
- The Amazon can produce twice as many crops as in Europe (16 over 8 years)
- Chemicals and fertilisers are sprayed onto the soil to encourage fertility.
- The land is also really flat so it is easy to farm. Large amounts of rainfall yearly and long sun hours means that anything can be grown
- BR163 is the frontline of deforestation. The government want to tarmac the dirt road part that runs through the Amazon, so it can be travelled on all year round. Deforestation currently stops as the tarmac turns to dirt. Coincidence, I think not.
- "When road paved, destruction quickly follows"
- Soya is a massive business, people need it to feed animals. The increase in meat demand means increase in soya farms
- People are moving to frontier towns to cash in on the agricultural boom in the Amazon. "More money they get more they destroy" - Megaron, Kayapo Indian
- Population of Colider (?) has increased 5x since the 80's
- Government pushing the panic button in the 80's had a positive effect on deforestation
- 32% of the Amazon is currently off limits for deforestation, under protection
- Paulo Adario is a member of Greenpeace
- The Amazon is large than Europe
- Frontiersmen (farmers) are protesting, they fear for their future, as they have cut down the forest unlawfully and they could face being forced out at any time, as they have no deeds to the land.
- The Brasilian government owns most of the Amazon
- "This is Brasil's heart of darkness"
- IBAMA - Try and control the rainforest. It's so risky Amazon operatives carry guns. They're massively underfunded. 51 agents police an area larger than France.
- Farmers carry guns. Environmental crimes are often linked to tax evasion, using stolen trucks, very bad working conditions, even slaves sometimes.
- They resist attempts to be stopped at all costs
- Greenpeace is an IBAMA ally
- Greenpeace HQ in the heart of the Amazon is like a fortress. Workers drive varied routes to work, drive bullet proof cars, flat (?) jackets are worn in the field, there have been death threats and contract killings to people who 'get in the way' of logging etc
- In the making of the documentary, 4 people were murdered over land disputes
- It is a sink hole for drug money
- 25,000 slaves are trapped in illegal logging camps and cattle ranches
- Policing the Amazon is all but impossible
- There is a global demand for timber, beef and sofa, which is financing deforestation
Overview:
This documentary was really insightful as I already had an overview of the deforestation of the Amazon, but it shed light on other factors that I hadn't considered such as cattle pastures and soya to feed animals which we then kill for meet, and how the meet industry is indirectly fuelling the deforestation of the Amazon. It was also interesting to see how the deforestation effects people differently, for some people they'd chop, or burn for that matter, it all down, and by trying to save it we're jeopardizing they're future income, however for others, it is causing global issues such as climate change, and destroying something beautiful, whilst killing off many species.
The enxt stage will be to watch more up to date documentaries, perhaps on cattle ranches or logging or indigenous people specifically, to see what each area thinks, and how they view this issue.
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