During the week’s assigned reading for this course, I came across a project that was sponsored by the World Bank that involved developing land in the Brazilian Amazon (“International,” n.d., p. 16). This project, referred to as the Northwest Region Integrated Development Program, was brought into operation in 1980. The intention of this program was a noble one: to improve health services and infrastructure, and to assist migrant farming families in finding affordable land ("Projects & Operations," n.d., para. 1). On paper, this project appears to have no downsides and only benefits to the people of an undeveloped area of the world; a project that falls in line with the World Bank’s commitment to the reduction of poverty. In practice, however, this project wreaked havoc onto the people and natural resources of one of the most endangered areas of the world. …show more content…
1). This caused a land rush to precious areas of rainforest in the Amazon, and caused irreparable destruction. Additionally, Schwartzman (1986) relates that the indigenous people of these areas were forced to migrate from their homes. By forcing them to venture into unknown terrain, these people faced famine, disease and even battle against the settlers that had come for their land (para. 5). I would absolutely say that the negative outcomes of this project could have been avoided with a simple conversation with the indigenous people of the area that were going to be affected, and doing as much as possible to prevent displacement. Unfortunately, land preservation and the establishment of reservations for indigenous people came too little too late for many that were affected. From an ecological standpoint, a survey of the land and the realization of the importance of maintaining the rainforest would have prevented the irreversible damage that was caused by this
Northwest Canadian Forest Products Limited is a company that owns and operates five saw mills in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. They produce lumber for construction in a few different countries. The President of the company is dealing with a tough situation with one of her mills in Jackson, British Columbia. The mill in Jackson is her least productive mill and she soon has to make a decision that could cost the company a substantial amount of money. She has the choice of either investing 50 million in the weak Jackson mill or to invest more that 50 million in a new mill high demand area. The president has been informed of the many complaints from the managers and supervisors, but nothing seems to be the right solution.
The United States before the civil war was basically split into two regions, the North and the South. These two regions had very different cultures, economics, and climates which led to different lifestyles and perspectives. Problems caused by the differences between the North and the South eventually led the nation into a great civil war- the bloodiest war in American history.
The Pacific NorthWest are bound to have natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis and floods. For example japan, Japan sits at the intersection of three continental plates. The Eurasian,Pacific, and Philippines. Which, these plates are rubbing together causing hard friction, resulting in an earthquake. Tsunamis are a reaction from an earthquake, when earthquakes occur they shake the sea floor causing tsunamis. And floods are caused when the pacific overflows its natural banks. In 2011, Japan was experiencing several earthquakes a week. It became so common citizens began to stop paying them any attention, and started laughing them off just like Chris Goldfinger. However, these laughed at earthquakes were just foreshocks from “The Big One”.
Sitting next to the window of Cyber Café, I enjoy the raining view of the lake. Taking a small sip of coffee, I feel so happy that I made the right choice. When I visit Northwest Vista College campus for the first time, I have felt in love with it. Because of beautiful lake and good educational system, I decide to apply for this school as my first stepping-stone to my career goal in my life.
This policy memo addresses the development and expansion of the cattle ranching industry in Brazil, which has contributed to the mass deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon in the last 40 years. It exposes the regional and global consequences to deforestation and provides strategies for the Brazilian government to sustainably manage cattle ranching industries while protecting the future of the Amazon. The rainforest ecosystem is an immense reserve of natural recourses that is far more valuable than the beef produced on Brazilian cattle ranches. Not only does the rainforest create habitat for up to 65% of the world’s biodiversity, but when harvested sustainably, it provides humans with an abundance of spices, foods, oils, medicines
Deforestation, pollution, poaching, and soil abuse are just four of the innumerable factors that lead to deleterious effects on the environment. With more and more trees falling under the determined chainsaws and axe blows of illegal loggers and soil loss from tenuous irrigation methods, South American governments have a rising concern to protect its ecosystem. But an unusual, and equally controversial, solution came not within the restraining bounds of the country borders, but from the efforts of the American multi-millionaire and philanthropic conservationist, Douglas Tompkins. Concerned about the ecology of South America, Tompkins purchased sumptuous strips of forest land to shield it from the venomous ways of poachers and illegal loggers.
The Kayapo tribe is not the only tribe dealing with land issues and problems with the Brazilian government, as well as surrounding countries’ governments. There are over 150 tribes that are native to Brazil, and around 90% of those tribes live in or around the Amazon Basin. Many of these tribes, including the Kayapo, have been having land ownership issues with outsiders trying to use native land. Since Europeans arrived in Brazil over 100 years ago, native tribes have experienced mass genocide, and seizure of most of their land. The main problem, and a problem resembling all other issues that have faced the Kayapo tribe, is that a large company called “Eletrobras” is pushing alongside the Brazilian government to try to build a massive dam in the outskirts of Kayapo territory. The government has done nothing but encourage
Deforestation poses an alarming threat to Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and it has been a serious concern for over 40 years. For thousands of years, the abundant, valuable resources in the Amazon were familiar only to the indigenous people of the region. In the 1500’s, before European colonization of Brazil, there were an estimated six to nine million individuals part of different cultures that made up a rich Amazonian society (“History”). Surrounded by the luxuriant rainforest and its natural resources, these indigenous tribes were able to thrive by utilizing the resources without destroying their habitat. After European emigration, the government of Brazil exploited the value of the Amazon’s resources in the twentieth century. In the 1970’s, the Brazilian government discovered the “untapped source of boundless potential” hiding in the Amazon and began using incentives to persuade settlers to develop its resources (Casey). Once economists realized the importance of the resources found within the rainforest, European pioneers set out to transform the Amazon into their home. By endorsing colonization, the government could not only boost the country’s economy, but also gain control over Brazil’s vast territory. The government supported migration to the rainforest and campaigned for the construction of infrastructure (“History”). In concurrence, the development of roads such as the Trans-Amazonian Highway, a 2,000 mile road built in 1972, granted people and machinery entrance to
Another factor precipitating deforestation appears to be poverty. Commonly held views argue that “high discount rates” received by poor countries are a cause of deforestation (The World Bank Forestry Policy 1991, Pearce and Watford 1993.). Because forests imply long gestation; private agents, particularly from the poorest countries, value what they can get immediately from forests more than what they can get in the future. But in 1999, Ekbom and Bojo challenged those views in a World Bank examination by showing that poverty does not necessarily lead to shorter time horizons and an increased rate of environmental degradation. They show how in fact the rural poor have used resources in a conservationist manner over a long period spanning centuries. Ostrom (1990), one of the various analysts they quoted, established a number of conditions that would lead to long term use of common resources despite their short-time
The effects of the colonial era on Latin America can still be seen today, yet each country has a different experience on how they have fought extractivism and more recently, neoliberal policies to fight for their human and environmental rights. In Brazil, the indigenous movement and the environmental movement have merged into one big movement to fight against these new neoliberal policies, in particular regarding the fight to protect the Amazonian forest and the resources it provides. Neoliberal policies have allowed multi-national corporations to enter the Amazon forest by taking the land of many indigenous tribes, creating environmental and public health disasters, and enforcing social structures shaped in the colonial period. Movements such
Throughout its history, the Amazon has been viewed as a place of incredible beauty and wealth. The natural resources of this region have supported the region’s indigenous population but have also drawn the often undesirable gaze of different industries. Two of the worst examples of industrial exploitation in the Amazon are the Trans-Ecuadorian pipeline oil spills and Ford’s failed venture in rubber plantations. On the other hand, there have been many successes in the pursuit for more sustainable ventures in the Amazon. Examples of these ventures include the work of both the Achuar people and Chico Mendes, both of whom advocated for the responsible development of the Amazon rainforest.
During the summer of my junior year, I went canvassing for Lyon County’s Regional Congressman Ruben Kihuen. I was so nervous to go out into town or even outside of town to give out flyers and ads or even talk to them about the Regional Congressman. I got handed about four packets full of people’s names and addresses I had to go knock on and ask the questions and give them the flyers. We were going all over across town trying to reach out to all of these people. One day I decided to drive outside of town and canvass. I got to this little green house on the corner of the street and at first I had a thought going through my head thinking that I should not even knock on the door because the house looks a banded. But, I had a feeling that I should just go knock and if they didn’t answer the door I should at least leave a flyer so they can read it.
Throughout the course of history, geography has always played an important role in the shaping of civilizations. In the British colonies of North America, geography determined almost all aspects of how they would develop. Questions like whether a colony would be agricultural or based on trade, what kind of immigrants would come to each region, which colonies would develop an economic backbone based off of slavery, how stable a colony would be, and what a colony’s basic unit of local government can be answered by geography because it was the primary factor in shaping the development of these aspects of British North America in the seventeenth century.
This is what a researcher could say about this program to paint the big picture for readers, “Clearly, the World Bank’s structural adjustment of Ghana is a textbook example of how to ruin a country. The ruthless denial of mineral wealth, food, medical care, education and even water has made the population destitute spectators to the plunder of Ghana by foreigners.” (Ismi. July, 2004).
Have you ever thought about the trees in Brazil and where they were going? The reasoning is because of deforestation, which is the action of clearing a wide area full of trees. The rain forests across the world could disappear in one hundred years at the current rate of deforestation. An increasing proportion of deforestation was driven by industrial activities and large-scale agriculture. More than three-quarters of forest clearing in the Amazon was because of cattle ranching. The transformation for cattle ranching is the biggest single direct driver of deforestation. More than sixty percent of cleared land ends up as a pasture, which most of the time it ends up being land that has not had any activity in a long time. For most of the Amazon, the main purpose for cattle ranching is to claim land, rather than produce beef or leather. Commercial interests, misguided government policies, inappropriate World Bank projects, and commercial exploitation of forest resources can be held responsible for sixty to seventy percent of deforestation in Brazil to land clearing for pastureland. The driving force behind the ranching business is the real prospect of profit from the activity. This motivates the decisions made by the chain of agents involved, from the primary speculators at the beginning of the process to the capitalized professional entrepreneurs on the strengthened frontier.1