Resilience and Change: Life in the Amazon Essay

In a country known for its elegant and flashy display of beautiful and wealth, there are groups of people, particular in the Amazon Rainforest, who still live detached from modernity and lifestyle of the contemporary world. Even though some of those groups live in voluntary isolation, they are united in their fight for land and environmental rights. One of these groups is the Kayapo, a group of around nine thousand indigenous people, who lives in the village of Gorotire along the Xingu River. Although the Kayapo have famously evolved from an isolated tribute to active voice against numerous developmental projects proposed by the Brazilian government, other groups such as rubber tappers in the Xapuri area have also made significant progress in securing political and cultural rights. While these communities and indigenous groups often share different cultures and customs, they are connected through a common struggle: defending their cultural and political identity amidst oppression and neglect from the Brazilian government.

The Amazon forest occupies a relevant place on the international scene and its importance is recognized worldwide. The goal of this paper is to present general information about the Amazon area, showing the biodiversity and the environmental, social, and economic impact in exploring that area. This paper will also emphasize what are the values of that ecosystem to the world, explaining about several natural resources, fauna, and flora in the Amazon forest. The author supported his arguments on articles and books that are in the reference. As a result, the author provides an overview and some important details about that area, bringing arguments and evidences to show why is important take care of the Amazon forest.

When one thinks about the Amazon rainforest often our minds flip to monkeys, toucans, and lots of trees. We think of the peacefulness and serenity of untouched land and the balance that nature has to offer. What we don’t think of is primitive tribes, mass killings, deadly snakes, ferocious jaguars, and satanic activity. This is the Amazon that Michael Dawson and his family were accustomed to. This was Yanomamo.

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

This paper is written almost exclusively with information taken directly from the book Families of the Forest by Alan Johnson about the lifestyle of the Matsigenka Amazonian Natives. Information regarding the Matsigenka is almost solely derived from the work of Johnson unless noted otherwise. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Matsigenka people, their needs as a community and finally pose a development project that meets the needs described. Realistically this is only one possible solution posed by an inexperienced undergraduate student. The author is student who has never set

In the second half of the twentieth century, the indigenous population has been able to create a network with many NGOs and activists communities to help them raise awareness of the environmental and human rights being violated by these multi-national corporations in the Amazon. Two events that were responsible for

Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization contributing in the fight for human rights in the Amazon rain forest region in South America.The Amazon rain forest ever since modern-day industrialization and after the colonial conquest became one of the greatest resources for natural Goods in the world and quickly became a victim of our industrialized societies. Today exploitation of the Amazon rain forest for its natural resources has become evermore damaging to the local biosphere and to the cultures that live there. Amazon Watch contends that since rain forests are necessary for the sustainability of the planet , that protecting the world's largest rain forest and most bio-diverse should be a long one of our top priorities is to protect. Not only does the Amazon rain forest house animals and plants but around four hundred different indigenous groups live with in the Amazon rain forest and have been living there for hundreds of years without disturbances .Founded in 1996 Amazon Watch campaigns for human rights, working closely with indigenous people of the

Almost every inhabitant of the Colombian Amazon has an interesting story to tell about their home, which is one of the most amazing places in the world. The Amazon provides survival experiences, exotic food, extreme recreation, and a unique livelihood to all those who have lived there. However, the character and future of many has also been shaped by a context of poverty, harsh violence, restricted opportunities, geographical disparities and gender inequity. Almost everyone who has loved and lived under the magic of the Amazon has also lost loved ones. Many have died there, either by direct armed conflict or by the weakness of the State regarding law enforcement and insufficient ability of services to meet basic needs.

For many of us the Amazon rainforest conjures images of pure, untouched nature. For others, it's a new frontier to be exploited. Sorry to burst either romantic bubble, but new research shows that there's nothing untouched about the Amazon -- it's a big, fat myth. In fact, the Amazon was home to several great civilizations that predated the arrival of Europeans.

Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas in the north of Brazil, there are beautiful beaches, a protected forest reserve (Amazon Forest), where there is the greatest biodiversity of animals and plants in the world, and also one of the main rivers of the world, Rio Amazonas. But because it is a place of difficult access, the country forgets a little of this beautiful sanctuary, leaving the drift for illegal deforestation and traffic of beautiful wild animals, besides extraction of ore, and diminution of territory, of the native people of the country. But those who go to this place are charmed by the natural beauty that this place offers you, Beautiful nature, and the people and their culture are very

Amazonia, a place that is of big significance in both culture and in diversity of species. It covers most of South America in countries such as Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, and a foreign possession country called French Guiana. Amazonia has been a place in which people have lived for 13,000 years (Amazonia, The Human Impact). Many things have happened in this place which has caused many troubles to the environment and the people surrounding the Amazonia such as Oil and Gas Production and Deforestation. These things bring big problem to the Biodiversity of Species , as well as a Cultural Crisis, in which the people see the Amazon as a beautiful place that has to be protected for the sake of

Many people are for the economic development of their countries, but for the Kichwa villagers if the economic development meant giving up their territory in the Amazon rainforest then they were against it. The Kichwa villagers wanted to protect the rainforest from the Ecuadorean army and one of the biggest companies in South America. The land covers 70,000 hectares of pristine rainforest. The villagers were told by the Petro Amazonas a state-backed oil company that they would begin prospecting on January 15, 2013. The community members began a legal battle to stop the state-run firm assisted by a British businesswoman, who was married to a village shaman and was appointed to run an Eco Lodge. Not only was the economic development of the Amazon

The Achuar live on both sides of the border between the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon. The total population is approximately 20,000 in both countries (Orta-Martinez, 2). Their name originates from the meaning of Achuar which is ‘the people of the aguaje palm’ (BBC). Their name reflects their strong connection between their identity and the Amazon. The Achuar live off the Amazon rainforest by extracting

On July 15, 2013, the Paiter-Suruí, an Amazonian tribe whose territory is located within the northwestern Brazilian state of Rondônia, became the first indigenous group in the world to earn REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) validation for its carbon sequestering plan and thus officially sanctioned to engage in carbon trading. Representing a key moment in the Paiter-Suruí’s cultural history, it is important to understand that the path that led them to adopt a financially driven forest conservation model was undertaken first and foremost as a strategy for cultural survival. To achieve its goal of REDD+ validation the Suruí (as they are more commonly known) had to not only overcome a history of marginalization

Unquestionably, every person that is given the opportunity to embrace the tropical Amazon rainforest for the rich quality of the environment will never forget the breathtaking view, the vivid everlasting allure, the sound of the river trickling into your ear, and the echoing rustle of the animals as they move through the forest. The heart wrenching emotion from the Amazon is something everyone should experience in their lifetime, but with the treacherous destruction of the rainforest may prevent generations from gaining this exposure. The memory of the Amazon is slowly dissipating into the emptiness of space, where the crackles of fire turn the beauty to ashes, the cattle trample every aspect of what could have been, and everyone watches the