Deforestation in the Amazon, Essay Example

Sustainable development is a major factor if we are to protect the ecology of our planet.  This is best illustrated by comparing  the social factors that brought about the collapse of Easter Islands populace with that of the ongoing deforestation of the Amazon rain forest.

Easter Island collapse

The Polynesians were the first original settlers of Easter Island arriving there about 300AD. Upon arrival at Easter Island they were greeted with few resources, the Island being of volcanic origin.  Settlements continued into the fifth century and these spread into small populaces across the Island.  Easter Island had a dense vegetation and woods.  The early settlers used all of this local resource to build shelters, roofing and boats for fishing.  By the time the first Europeans arrived in the 18th Century the Island was completely treeless apart from some isolated specimens.  By 1500 the eradication of the timber impacted the social lives of the inhabitants. They were forced to abandon their timber buildings and seek shelter in caves and hollows dug out of the stone.  Boats could no longer be made of timber and had to be constructed from reeds. This limited the distance that could be travelled and more importantly the fish that could be caught for their food supply.  Houses were also constructed of reeds and these were subject to destruction in storm conditions. Soil conditions also deteriorated because of the lack of suitable fodder for the animals and the subsequent passing of nutrients into the soil.  This resulted in poor or failing crops and a reduction in food supply.  After 1600 the decline went deeper and without any timber to erect stone statues it impacted the religious and spiritual requirements of the settlers.   ” The fate of Easter Island has wider implications too. Like Easter Island the earth has only limited resources to support human society and all its demands” (Clive, 1992)

The lessons learnt here may be briefly summarised as follows:

• The planet has limited resources
• These are depleted by the human demands for growth
• There are no practical means of escape, similar to the fate of the Islanders – extinction is an option!
• Change the environment and we alter the shape of the world we live in.

Amazon Rain Forests

No where is this more evident than the current destruction of the Amazonian rain forests in South America. ” Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometres of forest—an area larger than Greece—and since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometres (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed ” (Butler, 2008).  The depletion of the forests not only eliminates a precious natural resource but will impact the very quality of the air that we breathe and ultimately contribute towards climate change. Cattle ranching is one of the main drivers of human demand in the Brazilian Amazon. Similar to Easter Island the local people are depriving the region of natural resources to develop food supply.  Unfortunately this region is not an Island and as such the scope of damage is much wider – climatic change will impact the entire inhabitants of the planet.  Left unchecked it will impact the entire social and quality of life of the worlds inhabitants. We have to work towards a program of sustainable development ” sustainable development is maintaining a delicate balance between the human need to improve lifestyles and feeling of well-being on one hand, and preserving natural resources and ecosystems, on which we and future generations depend.” (Srinivas, 2009).

Works Cited

Butler, R. A. (2008). Deforestation in the Amazon. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from Mongbay: http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html

Clive, P. (1992). The Lessons of Easter Island. In P. Clive, ‘A Green History of the World’ (pp. 168-170). UK: Penguin.

Srinivas, H. (2009). Definitions. Retrieved October 11, 2009, from SD Feature Definitions: http://www.gdrc.org/sustdev/definitions.html