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The Deforestation of the Ecuadorian Amazon Essay

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The Amazon is a vast region spanning across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana (Walker, & Cesareo 2014). Possessing the most developed rainforest of anywhere in the world, over two-thirds of all the fresh water and 20% of the earth’s oxygen are produced in the Amazons (wcupa.edu). Despite the vital role of the Amazons, the rapid deforestation continues to affect the ecosystem. (Mainville, et al, 2006). The main causes of deforestation include unsustainable logging, agriculture, invasive species, fire, fuel wood gathering, and livestock grazing. The widespread of this issue has become an important consideration in global policy processes that deal with biodiversity, climate change, and …show more content…

Soil erosion is a natural process in which wind and water remove soil. The removal of the soil roughly occurs at the same rate soil is formed. But 'accelerated' soil erosion, is a far more recent problem. The result is mankind's unwise actions, such as overgrazing or unsuitable cultivation practices” (Collins, 2001). Recent studies link deforestation to the accelerating soil erosion process and to the leaching of naturally occurring mercury (Mainville, et al., 2006). The acceleration of soil erosion then leads to land infertility affecting local and worldwide (Pimentel, et al. 1995). Forest fragmentation is another hazard of deforestation. According to the EPA, the fragmentation process breaks up large parts of forest into smaller pieces. Continuous fragmentation may accelerate global warming by releasing carbon stored in trees (Wade, T., 2003) The Ecuador Amazonian native communities are experiencing the environmental impacts in their flora and fauna as well as risks to their health. Infectious disease dynamics are being altered in animals and humans, strongly affecting cross-species infection rates (Pongsiri, et al 2009). Biodiversity loss may increase species into atypical ecological interactions, which facilitate transmission. Diseases such as Lyme disease, Malaria, and Yellow Fever Possibly can be associated with deforestation (Wilcox & Ellis, 2006). In the Napo

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