Deforestation In South America

Deforestation has become an increasing problem for many countries in South America. In South America, the rate of deforestation has continually increased at an alarming rate. Not only is this hurting South America's people and animals, but it is potentially causing harm for the future. Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru account for over 70% of the deforestation. In each of these countries, agriculture, logging, and urbanization all play a role in deforestation. However, in each country there are other crucial factors that are not well known that add to the problem of deforestation. The story map will present these lesser known problems.

The first country and arguably the country most affected by deforestation is Brazil. There are several factors that affect the countries forests including forest fires, and agriculture, but the main factor is cattle ranching. As shown on the map to the right, cattle ranching is found throughout Brazil. Cattle ranching account for nearly 80% of deforestation in Brazil. There are over 200 million heads of cattle in Brazil with it being the largest exporter in the world. With Brazil's land cost being low along with easy transportation due to the rural environment, the country attracts cattle farmers all over the world. With the supply of beef increasing over the past five years, cattle ranchers have been pushing their herds into the forest, clear-cutting and burning the forest as they go, thus contributing to the widespread of deforestation.

The second largest country in South America that contributes to deforestation is Peru. The country's main recent contribution has been illegal gold mining. In 2018, illegal gold mining hit an all time high as over 70 square miles of forest was destroyed in southern Peru as a result of mining. To put it in perspective, 70 square miles is a little larger than Washington D.C. The hardest hit region is Madre de Dios which is called La Pampa. In this area alone, there have been 6,000 to 7,000 people moving in to mine gold illegally. With these people moving in, homes are required along with routes to move their equipment and gold once they mine it. All of these factors leads to more trees being cut down.

The third South American country that contributes to deforestation is Bolivia. In the recent months Bolivia has had terrible wildfires that has wiped out forests throughout the county. In the main city of Santa Cruz fires have destroyed over 2.35 million acres. However, most of these fires were not an accident but instead a result of the country's Vice President allowing agribusinesses to burn forests to expand the agricultural frontier by one million hectares per year in 2014. That strategy did not succeed as the forests and surround land was so dry that the fires started spreading throughout the country.

Deforestation is a major problem in developing countries of South America. Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia are all producers that help the economy grow; however, the price for that is deforestation. The removal of these trees and other types of vegetation reduces available food, shelter, and breeding habitats for animals. Native species must live on remaining habitat islands that are surrounded by disturbed land. Deforestation is also affecting climate change. Forests store a large amount of the world’s carbon dioxide. When forest trees are burned or knocked down, the carbon that they were storing gets released into the atmosphere which ultimately leads to changes in the weather. Deforestation will likely never end, but there are ways to reduce it. For example, countries could limit logging in old growth forests, eliminate clear-cutting forests, and increase the number of seedlings planted.

It is a known fact that deforestation in South America has become a serious problem in the past few years. However, the government of South America has not acted properly in order to limit the deforestation. It is crucial for international governments to apply more pressure on the South American government in order to reduce deforestation. Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia must recognize and develop a plan to correct the situation as it impacts not only their countries but the world.