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
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