The Amazon Flashcards

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1
Q

How did the Amazon region form?

A

ecosystem prob formed by the rise of the Andes mountains starting 35-65 million years ago

  • increased rainfall by blocking humid Atlantic air
  • prevented water from draining to Pacific; formed wetlands
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2
Q

How diverse is life on amazon?

A

Very, home to 1/10 of all species on Earth

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3
Q

What regional and global benefits does the amazon provide?

A
  • produces oxygen, stores carbon
  • regulates water cycle ‘creates’ rain
  • cycles nutrients, forms soil
  • provides useful products (nuts, rubber..)
  • provides cultural value
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4
Q

Humans have lived in the Amazon for ____ years

A

13,000

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5
Q

What were the different Indigenous livelihoods over time in the Amazon?

A
  • Foraging (hunter-gatherer)
  • Foraging combined with settled fishing
  • Cultivation (swidden/shifting; orchards)
  • Some large settlements
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6
Q

How did pre-colonial people influence the Amazon environment?

A

Changed the composition of the forest:
- cultivated useful trees and plants
- built earthworks
- kept homes safe from flooding; created ponds

Built raised fields and channels in wetlands:
- reduced shade; raised water temps

Changed composition of soils
- Garbage piles formed rich black soil, helped plant growth

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7
Q

What were some contemporary threats to the Amazon?

A

Deforestation:
- agricultural expansion (cattle ranching, crops)
- timber harvesting

Hydroelectric dams

oil and mining

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8
Q

What was a driver of deforestation?

A

Agriculture
- govt incentives encouraged people to clear forest and settle in Amazon

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9
Q

What occupied the majority of cleared forest land in the Amazon?

A

Cattle ranching

Considered less risky than other ventures during the settlement boom in 1960s:
- can walk itself to market; hardier than crops
- still an important way for farmers to hedge against risk
- quickly depletes soil

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10
Q

What was soy farming used for in the Amazon?

A

Used for livestock feed, edible oil, biodiesel, food products
- a “flex crop”

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11
Q

Soybean production has increased very rapidly: more than ____ globally since 1994

A

doubled

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12
Q

What percent of soy is used to feed livestock?

A

70%

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13
Q

How does soy contribute to deforestation?

A

Soy plantations displace pastures
- large monoculture plantations

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14
Q

What are the key points about hydroelectric dams for the Amazon?

A
  • many new dams planned for the Amazon
  • Goal: low-carbon energy, economic development

-Impacts: flooding, relocation, cultural erosion, ecological changes

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15
Q

What was the Belo Monte dam?

A

Hydroelectric dam

  • world’s fourth-largest dam
  • project approved after 20 years of opposition by Indigenous ppl and environmental groups
  • changes in water flow have dramatically affected biodiversity and livelihoods
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16
Q

What two impacts does mining have on the Amazon region?

A
  • deforestation
  • pollution
17
Q

What aimed to boost gold mining in the Amazon?

A

Two presidential decrees

18
Q

Regions designated for oil and gas projects covered over ___ of the Amazon

A

2/3

19
Q

What are the impacts on oil and gas on the Amazon?

A
  • water pollution
  • road building
  • seismic testing
  • spills
20
Q

What are the treats to the Amazon?

A
  • deforestation
  • hydro dams
  • oil and gas
  • mining
21
Q

What are some strategies to protect the Amazon?

A
  • international cooperation
  • policies
  • market measures
  • land defenders
22
Q

What is the bad news for the Amazon?

A

renewed threats and political choices

23
Q

What are two examples of international cooperation?

A
  • ACTO: Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization
  • CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
24
Q

What are the Brazilian national policies to curb deforestation?

A
  • Action Plan to reduce deforestation in the Amazon
  • Soy moratorium
25
Q

What was Brazil’s Soy Moratorium?

A
  • Voluntary agreement pushed by NGOs and retailers
26
Q

What was the goal of Brazil’s Soy Moratorium?

A

To reduce deforestation for growing soy

large soybean traders agreed not to buy soy grown on Amazon land cleared after 2006

27
Q

What was the outcome of Brazil’s Soy Moratorium?

A

It reduced soy grown on newly deforested land in the Brazilian Amazon

28
Q

What are the challenges associated with Brazil’s Soy Moratorium?

A
  • Soy production continues to expand elsewhere, potentially displacing it to unprotected areas (referred to as “leakage”)
  • deforestation for farming persists
29
Q

What are some market approaches to the Amazon?

A

Payments for ecosystem services (PES)

e.g. Yasuni-ITT Initiative

30
Q

What does payments for ecosystem services do?

A

financially rewards people for providing nature’s benefits instead of depleting them

ex. protecting watersheds, preventing soil erosion

31
Q

What are the key features of Payments for Ecosystem Services?

A

Voluntary, negotiated transactions (not imposed regulations)

Makes low-impact livelihood activities more financially attractive than high-impact ones

32
Q

What was the goals of the Ecuador’s Tasuni-ITT initiative?

A

govt of Ecuador sought payments to not develop an oil reserve under a national park

Goals:
- protect biodiversity
- protect indigenous ppl living in voluntary isolation
- address climate change
- move ecuador away from fossil fuel use

33
Q

What was the purpose of the Ecuador’s Yasuni-ITT initiative launched in 2007?

A
  • sought $3.6B (ahlf the value of oil) to avoid drilling
  • promised to repay the money if drilling proceeded
34
Q

What events followed Ecuador’s Yasuni-ITT initiative and its cancellation?

A
  • 2013: Over $300 million pledged; only $13 million delivered.
  • Ecuador cancelled the plan, awarded drilling concessions, and refunded money already paid.
  • 2023: A national referendum required the state oil company to stop operating in parts of Yasuni.
35
Q

Who are land defenders?

What is their significance in forest conservation?

A
  • Long history of community resistance to forest destruction.
  • Example: Rubber tappers in Brazil, led by Chico Mendes (1944-1988).

Famous quote: “At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.”

  • Assassinated by a rancher, but his colleagues continued advocating for change.
  • Marina Silva, a colleague of Mendes, became Environment Minister (2003-2008).
  • Rewrote Brazilian forest policy.
36
Q

How do land defenders and their allies fight environmental destruction?

A
  • Community mobilization and activism
  • International alliances
  • Transnational social movements