Environmental threats to the Amazon
Amazon has been suffering many environmental impacts during its occupation. In similar way to what happens with other Latin-American countries, Amazon forest resources have being destroyed in a large scale and exploited with great wastes. The expansion of agricultural border has been characterized for fast productivity falls due to precarious unproductive soils handling of most lands that have being incorporated to productive process, through itinerant agriculture, that uses deforestation and burning practices in opening new areas, or through the transfer of extensive forest areas to great proprietors' hands, that transform them into pasture. The combination of those factors imply in extensive deforestation. Until the end of the eighties, almost 400,000 km2 had been deforested, what means about 8% of total forest area. However, mean deforestation rate dropped in the nineties, to 14,000 km2 per year, after having reached 21,000 km2 per year from 1978 to 1989. Actually, the contribution of regional agricultural production to national production is small (7% in 1980) as well as the area occupied by establishments in Legal Amazon, including soy producers. Great part of production, however, comes from great properties that participate on agricultural production opening pastures. Raising cattle was the chose activity because it is self-productive, demanding a minimum of capital and labor for its maintenance, what allows capitalization in short periods and, at the same time, justifies the appropriation of great amount of land, using State subsidies. The exploitation of wood complements land use. Deforestation, however, is not the unique agricultural environmental impact. The removal of nutrients from low fertility soils is another great impact. Wood exploitation, one of the main activities of Amazon has being developed in a very harmful way, without concern with forest handling or with the use of less aggressive extraction methods. The companies just use the log noble part and the scraps, that could have several uses, are burned or not used. At the same time, the farmers have in wood an alternative of income that works as saving money, but they generally sell it to very low prices for wood middlemen or change it for services. Wood extraction in holms is made on plant populations located at rivers borders, in easy access areas where exploitation can be done by traditional methods. In firm ground forests, the extraction is accomplished by log men, that have minimum infrastructure. Another exploitation form is made by vertically integrated wood companies, that act in wood extraction as though as in its industrialization. Most of these industries extract (or buy) wood, exclusively, in farmer lands, while a very low number use their own lands. The operations are, in general, highly automated, and they alter the forest covering significantly, being potentially more destructive to the environment. The most common wood extractive system is simple wood extraction in colonization or agricultural projects areas. Minimum investment is made and no concern with sustainability of forest production is shown. Cultivated forests are hardly seen in Amazon. These areas are limited to exotic fast growth species, and the production is sold directly to industries. Reforestation with native species are incipient and its productivity is still uncertain. Hydroelectric power-station constructed in Amazon produced great impacts too. The artificial ecosystem created affect not only the environment but also the social and economic activities. The reservoir changes the landscape and the flooded area alters the original ecosystem characteristics in many ways. One example occurs with animals that are moved: they go to areas where other populations exist in balance. When they arrive the balance is broken, and problems like food competion begins. From economic point of view, it is necessary to estimate the costs of the loss of agricultural production in the space of the river and in the area flooded by the reservoir, as well as the value of the wood and minerals in the submerged forest. The main social problem is family realocation. From eighties the use of Amazon electric potential begins to change for three main reasons: strong popular reaction in impacted areas, national and international pressures and new laws. Another great impact is made by gold mining. Two basic processes of gold extraction can be found: gold recovery from soils and rocks and extraction from sediments using dredging systems, used in many Amazonian rivers. Besides extraction impacts, in both cases, mercury is used to separate thin gold particles through a gold-mercury mixture. To recover gold, the mixture is burned, frequently outdoors, liberating mercury vapor to the air. During the gold-mercury mixing process, a variable amount of metallic mercury also gets lost in rivers and soil.
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