Current Human Impacts

The Amazon rainforest has long been a source of ecological services not only for local communities, but also for the rest of the world population. It is one of the largest and oldest rainforests in the world, and the richest in diversity. However, market forces, population pressures, and infrastructure expansions are continuing to threaten the rainforest, especially in relation to globalization and the development of countries that which the Amazon encompasses in South America. Industries such as mining, agriculture, and logging have only fueled deforestation rates.


Source: Butler, Rhett A. N.d. MongaBay. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.


Over the past few decades, the drastic human impact of deforestation has left little opportunity in exploring the diversity it offers, as it continues to gradually undo the fragile processes that have been refining it over millions of years. Recent studies have claimed that the human impact on the Amazonian rainforests have in fact been grossly underestimated (Berenguer 3716). Selective logging and surface wildfires amount to an annual loss of 54 billion tons of carbon from the Brazilian Amazon, which is equivalent to 40% of the yearly carbon loss from deforestation. In consequence, the forest has lost up to 20% in cover since 1970, which has not only cumulated to a great loss in wildlife diversity, but also remains a great threat to the impending extinction of many species. For instance, the number of Brazilian bare-faced tamarins has been reduced by half in 18 years as agriculture and cattle farming have raised demand for forest clearing (Berenguer 3718). Additionally, the giant otter, native to the Amazon, faces the threat of water pollution from mining operations and agricultural runoff, and has remained a high risk on the endangered species list since 1999; the IUCN predicts that its numbers may halve in the next 20 years if present conditions continue (IUCN)

In addition to the loss of biodiversity, habitat degradation, and a modified global climate, the effects of deforestation on the Amazon rainforest also leads to loss of water cycling. Water vapor that emanates from the Amazon travels by wind to its Central-South region, where most of the agriculture is grown in Brazil. With deforestation comes a reduction in water cycling and thus less rainfall or even droughts, an integral factor of crop yields. Brazil’s annual harvest is valued at around $65 billion, and its heavy dependence on rainfall from the Amazon could lead to a significant effect on the Brazilian economy (Barreto et al). However, perhaps most substantial are the social impacts on the Amazon. Local tribes and communities are less able to benefit from the natural resources provided by the Amazon, which in turn not only increases poverty but also reduces cultural diversity. Only an estimated 900,000 people, about 0.4% of the population, live in the 240 tribes across the Brazilian Amazon today (Survival International)