Cattle are big business in the Amazon, though landowners are required by law to preserve 80 percent of the forest.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX WEBB, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALEX WEBB, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Keeping Production Up
Although landowners in the Amazon face restrictions on how much land they can clear, overall production of beef and soy has risen over the past decade, the scientists and economists note. McGrath says producers have been focused on increasing their efficiency and productivity, in part because they often don't have the option of clearing more land. As a result, many have successfully adopted better management practices. That process can go further, says Scarano. If land that is currently not very productive could be managed better, then Brazil "could double food production without cutting a single tree," he says. But farmers could use more support from the government, with a policy that encourages efficiency, he says. Emerging Threats and Next Steps Scarano and McGrath both note that 2013 saw a slight uptick in the rate of deforestation in Brazil's section of the Amazon, although the rate remains much lower than it was decades ago. The cause of the recent changes is unclear, but it could be related to weather patterns, which can encourage more land clearing, as well as rising global demand for food. It also highlights the need for further improvements, both men agree. A new government program that requires landowners to register their usage plans should help, says Scarano. McGrath adds that another step should be to strengthen the system for incentives for landowners who follow good management practices. They could receive payments from emerging carbon markets for the amount of greenhouse gases they prevent, or for other "ecosystem services" like protecting water quality. A few pilot projects have been under way, some funded by a one-billion-dollar grant from Norway and others, tying in to California's growing carbon market. In a suggestion that some environmentalists might find counterintuitive, McGrath also says international food companies that are committed to preventing deforestation should consider working in additional areas in the Amazon. |
"If they don't move into those areas because they are afraid of getting accused of deforestation, then other groups that don't care will move in and will exploit the resources," says McGrath. "Because it is going to get developed somehow."
Brazil’s agricultural lobby had battled with environmentalists over the most recent updates to the Forest Code. But now that the law is in place, the next step has been trying to figure out implementation, says Gustavo Diniz Junqueira, the president of the influential Brazilian Rural Society, which represents agricultural producers in the country. Junqueira says large producers in the Amazon have effectively ceased deforestation, although some smaller producers are still removing trees. To help reduce that, small-scale producers need more access to technology. They also need insurance coverage, he says. The Brazilian agribusiness industry is trying to shake its reputation as being “an enemy of the environment,” says Junqueira. “Instead of expansion in new areas, we are looking at how to produce more in the same areas,” he notes. In that way, over the past few years, soy production has been rising six percent a year. Scarano adds that despite Brazil's success on deforestation, many other environmental problems remain. The country faces big challenges in "reconciling nature conservation with the needs of human well-being," he says. Planned development of large-scale hydroelectric plants in the Amazon and elsewhere in the country could erase some of the gains that have been made in protecting forests, he warns. The country also hopes to build additional infrastructure as the economy grows. Some environmentalists, such as celebrity Bianca Jagger, have criticized Brazil for not doing enough to protect indigenous rights and for poor living conditions in vast urban favelas, including water quality issues. As the world looks to Brazil for the World Cup and Olympics, those issues may come into sharper focus. "Planning must take into account many factors, including nature," says Scarano. And when it comes to stopping deforestation, "there's no one right way," said Boucher of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "But rather a smorgasbord of options." |