Deforestation in the AmazonEffects and Responses of the

Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante of Brazil

Picture from: http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050208/050208_amazon_hmed_9a.hmedium.jpg

Deforestation in the Amazon

Deforestation in the Amazon

The Amazon rainforests have the highest rate of deforestation

It’s home to 60% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest

In these regions deforestation is mostly caused by cattle ranching and agriculture

The Amazon rainforests have the highest rate of deforestation

It’s home to 60% of the world’s remaining tropical rainforest

In these regions deforestation is mostly caused by cattle ranching and agriculture

Chart From: http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html

Deforestation and Indigenous Groups Deforestation and Indigenous Groups

• We want to compare and contrast the difference in their attitudes toward the forest

• Addressing generalization of indigenous groups

• We want to compare and contrast the difference in their attitudes toward the forest

• Addressing generalization of indigenous groups

The Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante of BrazilThe Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante of Brazil

Misconceptions About Indigenous Groups

• First View: Humans destruct and manipulate the environment for their uses, whether they are indigenous or not.

• Second View: Indigenous people’s traditional knowledge of the land will, if they are given control over the land, help the Amazon regenerate itself.

Pictures From: http://www.stpauls.it/jesus03/0311je/0311je68.htm

Indigenous PeopleIndigenous PeopleIndigenous PeopleIndigenous PeopleAre they always caretakers of the

forest?Are they always caretakers of the

forest?

Traditional practices of Indigenous people create relationship with the Earth that has supported life for thousands of years

This however may be a dangerous assumption

For example: The Machiguenga of Peru

From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htmFrom: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm

Though many indigenous groups, in all parts of the world, do maintain a sanctified relationship with their environment, that is not necessarily true, for all groups..like the

Machiguenga.

Rational Choice Theory:According to Natalie Smith, “Humans are considered to be cost-benefit analysts capable of making behavioral choices that maximize their self interests”.

Machiguenga and their affect Machiguenga and their affect on the foreston the forest

Machiguenga and their affect Machiguenga and their affect on the foreston the forest

From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htmFrom: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm

Is self-indulgence the only reason?

Is self-indulgence the only reason?

It is important to note that land exploitation by indigenous people is not necessarily because of greed, but often implemented due to external pressures and a sense of self preservation

From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htmFrom: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm

Joseph Henrich’s idea of market expansion:

Joseph Henrich’s idea of market expansion:

“Many Amazonian researchers insist that the social, economic, and ecological deterioration confronting indigenous peoples results from the inexorable process of capitalist market expansion. Indigenous peoples seem compelled by externally imposed political, social, legal, and economic structures to pursue short-term, unsustainable economic strategies that inevitably lead to escalating rates of the environment’s destruction, malnutrition, economic dislocation, and social

inequity”.

Unsustainable Land PracticesUnsustainable Land PracticesForced free-market expansion combined with self-indulgent “Rational Choice Theory” creating unsustainable land practices

Desire for income to buy westernized commodities leads to expansion of forest commodity production

From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htmFrom: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm

But there is HopeBut there is Hope

From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htmFrom: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm

Map from: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky

The Xavante Indians of

central Brazil however,

exemplify the opposite

viewpoint, that indigenous

people tend to conserve land

Xavante as Conservationists

“Large businesses and landowners, in

collusion with government

officials, lease the land for pennies on the acre and then

move on when yields diminish,

leaving huge tracts of denuded,

depleted soil....[At] the edge of the tilled

horizon...[is] the beginning of the

Xavante reservation, a great verdant landscape....The sight of intact old

growth jungle, palm forest, and

grasslands [is] revitalizing.”

From: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky

Intact Forest on Xavante Land

Left From: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky

Chart From: “Tapirs, Tractors, and Tapes: The Changing Economy and Ecology of the Xavante Indians of Central Brazil”

Traditions and PracticesTraditions and Practices

-The Xavante have been returning to a more traditional way of life, The Xavante have been returning to a more traditional way of life, substituting wild foods such as fish, game and wild plants for farmed productssubstituting wild foods such as fish, game and wild plants for farmed products

-These activities don’t require forest clearance; on the contrary, they require These activities don’t require forest clearance; on the contrary, they require forested area in order to be sustainedforested area in order to be sustained

From: http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/brazil/xavante.html

-The Xavante are vocally opposed to the Hidrovia Project - the construction of an industrial waterway along the Rio das Mortes

-”If this Hidrovia is to be constructed, it will be the end of our animals, it will cause great damage to the environment, it will ruin an important part of the food of our people, fish, and turtles. It will do away with the homes of many animals, dolphins, river otters, cayman, and others.”

Opposing Development

• Other Xavante actions contradict this image of the “Ecologically Noble Savage”

• Xavante are largely dependant on government assistance

• “Social security has become so important to the Xavante that they exert continuous pressure on FUNAI [Brazilian Indian Foundation] to increase the number of old men and women eligible to receive social security.”

From: “Tapirs, Tractors and Tapes: The Changing Economy and Ecology of the Xavante Indians of Central Brazil” From: “Tapirs, Tractors and Tapes: The Changing Economy and Ecology of the Xavante Indians of Central Brazil”

• Xavante also make money by leasing some of their land to cattle ranchers

Image From: http://www.gcollier.com/t4.html

The Other Side

People must be aware and knowledgeable about the problem of Deforestation in the Amazon before a solution can be reached.

Amazon DeforestationAmazon Deforestation• Government and Conservation Groups

should consider:-The people who live in the Amazon and how they are affected by the local conditions

-Educating all people, especially those that live in the Amazon, about deforestation From: http://inkasperu.com/tours/amazon/amazon.htmlFrom: http://inkasperu.com/tours/amazon/amazon.html