Deforestation In The Amazon Rainforest Essay

Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest has been a huge environmental challenge in Latin America since 1991. Deforestation refers to the loss, or destruction, of naturally occurring forests, primarily due to human activities; logging, cutting trees for fuel, slash-and-burn agriculture, clearing land for livestock grazing, mining operations, oil extraction, dam building, and urban sprawl. In the pre-Columbian era, parts of the Amazon were densely populated, open agricultural landscapes. After the European invasion in the 16th century, the hunt for gold, western diseases, slavery and later and the rubber boom, caused the depopulation of the Amazon, and the forest grew larger. Before the 1970s, access to the forest's interior was highly restricted, and aside from partial clearing along rivers the forest remained intact. Following the opening of highways that ran deep into the forest, such as the Trans-Amazonian highway in 1972, deforestation accelerated greatly. Further, in other parts of the

With deforestation, the genetic variations (like crop resistance) that scientists would like to preserve are greatly threatened. Regulations need to be put in place on specific medicinal plants as they may potentially save millions of lives if left unscathed. In addition, although the wood found in forests is used to supply people with timber, wood fuel, and wood pulp, the long-term financial impact far outweighs the short-term gain (Ayre 2014) . The use of forests for the creation of wood products or the conversion of forests into fields and crops has actually gone on to cause financial woes. Both West Africa and Southeast Asia have suffered lower revenue due to a decrease in timber harvests (Mallen 2013) . And adding to that point, illegal logging comes with a price each year that can cost national economies billions of dollars to compensate for the