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Chapter Reference: Progress; Neocolonialism; Neoliberalism
Alarm about the destruction of the world's remaining rainforests sounded loudly in the 1980s. The rate of cutting and burning seemed to decline in the 1990s, but there was no reason to believe that the ultimate threat of destruction had diminished. The famous (and very real) biodiversity of rainforest environments did not become less precious, but the issue lost novelty. Overall, concern about the cutting down of rainforests was merely crowded out of the news by other environmental concerns, such as global warming. However, in addition to its other deleterious effects, such as permanent soil degradation and reduction in biodiversity, the destruction of rainforest also contributes to global warming because burning the trees, the destiny of most of those that are cut, produces greenhouse gases. While some areas of rainforest remain in Asia, Africa, and Central America, Amazonia is far and away the largest expanse of tropical rainforest in the world. The heart of Amazonia lies in Brazil, but Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela all have Amazonian regions. A paper on Amazonia should include a basic understanding of rainforest biodiversity, as well as the impact of various sorts of developmental strategies: logging, ranching, streambed mining, dam building, and agricultural colonies. Finally, the people of Amazonia include, along with those who have migrated from elsewhere in search of a better life, indigenous people, many of whom now live on reservations.
Questions for Research and Analysis:
- What are the current daily and monthly figures on the acreage cut or burned in Amazonia? What part does the Amazonian rainforst play in the world climate?
- What sorts of debates surround the question of rainforest destruction in Brazil? How have indigenous people of the region been affected?
- Many groups conflict over preserving or developing Amazonia: indigenous inhabitants of the rainforest, multinational corporations, large-scale cattlemen, proponents of biodiversity, state agencies, miners, and settlers from other parts of Brazil, to name a few. Pick several groups and craft a short imaginary debate among them.
Bibliography: (Titles with ** are good starting places.)
** Bates, Henry Walter. The Naturalist on the River Amazon. New York: Penguin Books,
1989
First published in 1863, this account of travels in Amazonia is fascinating for its descriptions of both people and the natural environment.
** Caufield, Catherine. In the Rainforest. New York: Knopf, 1985.
In the Rainforest provides a great intro to the broad contours of the issues.
** De Onís, Juan. The Green Cathedral: Sustainable Development of Amazonia. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1992.
Students interested in the complex debates of sustainable development in Amazonia, engaged by multiple interest groups, will want to start with this book.
** Diacon, Todd A. Stringing Together a Nation: Cándido Mariano Da Silva Rondon and
the Construction of a Modern Brazil, 1906-1930. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 2004.
A scholarly history (but an enjoyable narrative) of the telegraph lines the Rondon Commission established in Brazil in the early 1900s, linking parts of Amazonia with other areas of Brazil in hopes of unifying diverse communities.
Little, Paul E. Amazonia: Territorial Struggles on Perennial Frontiers. Baltimore: The Johns
Hopkins University Press, 2001.
Little combines environmental history and political ecology to look at Amazonia throughout the twentieth century, concentrating on notions of the frontier and territoriality.
** Margolis, Mac. The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier. New York:
Norton, 1992.
Inspired by a trip through Amazonia, Margolis provides a journalistic account of the history of Amazonia, its inhabitants and rich biosphere, and human attempts to tame and tap the resources of the forest.
** Moran, Emilio F. Through Amazonian Eyes: The Human Ecology of Amazonian
Populations. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1993.
Moran provides a succinct overview of the communities that presently live in Amazonia, as well as a look at the biodiversity of the forest and forms of development that took place in the late twentieth century.
Revkin, Andrew. The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the
Amazon Rain Forest. Washington, DC: Shearwater Books, 2004.
Revkin details the struggle waged by the Amazonian rubber tapper Chico Mendes to involve the Brazilian government in sustainable development programs opposed by ranchers.
Sponsel, Leslie E., ed. Indigenous Peoples and the Future of Amazonia: An Ecological
Anthropology of an Endangered World. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1995.
A collection of anthropological studies that range from historical interpretations of biodiversity to studies of human adaptation in Amazonia.
Other Resources:
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