Transcript
THE AMAZON IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Experts from throughout the hemisphere gathered in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to discuss the pressing challenges facing the Amazon.
The meeting, one of the activities of the Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank, dealt with the alarming rate of deforestation in this region, which is mostly in Brazilian territory.
Dr. Irma Vieira, an expert who works in the heart of the Amazon, says that in 2005 alone, a billion trees were destroyed, which wiped out some 125 million birds.
Dr. Irma Vieira,
Director,
Emilio Goeldi Museum, Belem, Paraná State
“Yes, this happens every year because the deforestation rate is very high. Our preliminary numbers for 2005 tell us that the deforestation rate was between 19,000 and 20,000 square kilometers. Every year we have roughly this loss of diversity.”
The IADB event also discussed possible solutions to this problem.
Vieira again
“I think the zoning of the Amazon, should include a rational distribution and sizing of the farming land. The lack of zoning regulations is the biggest problem in the Amazon because it is the main culprit of the devastation. The zoning of the Amazon would help organize the distribution of that very vast land.”
Dr. Bertha Becker,
Professor Emeritus,
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
“There are a lot of initiatives trying to get a solution for the Amazon. The problem is that this is a very vast territory and there is a lack of social and economic density in the Amazon. Also, we have to have a technological revolution to deal with the Amazon ecosystems. We still don’t have an adequate model. This model has to use the natural resources without destroying nature and taking social inclusion into consideration. Many proposals neglect this social inclusion.”
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