Amazon Rainforest: Fascination, threats and conflicts Study: - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Amazon Rainforest: Fascination, threats and conflicts Study: Integrated Climate System Science Course: Climate and Society Course leader: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheffran Diana Süsser Date: 11/1/2011 http://www.hkroeger.de/uploads/pics/amazonas_01.jpg

Structure 1 Introduction 2 Fascination of the Amazon rainforest 2.1 Location and size 2.2 Need for its protection 3 Threats to the Amazon 3.1 Pressures on the rainforest 3.2 Human pressures on the rainforest 3.3 Climate pressure on the rainforest 4 Human- and climate-induced conflicts 5 Conclusion and outlook 6 Discussion 7 References

1. Introduction - about 18 % of the Amazon forest are destroyed - about further 18 % are strong degraded ! 80 percent of all primeval forests are destroyed !

2 Fascination of the Amazon rainforest 2.1 Location and size Central and South America compose 40% of global tropical forest land cover Amazon rainforest - size: ~ 7 million km² - largest contiguous tropical rainforest on earth - stretches over 9 south- american countries - about 60 % located in Brazil Figure 1: South American rainforests. http://www.duke.edu/web/nicholas/bio 217/jmz28/rainforest%20overview.html

2 Fascination of the Amazon rainforest 2.2 Need for its protection Biodiversity - most bio-diverse region in the world - around one third of all on earth living plants and animals are living here - some counts: about 30,000 vascular plants, with 5,000-10,000 tree species alone, more than 400 mammal species, about 3,000 fish species - many species are undetected until today → Silman (2007) emphasizes that ' such productivity and biodiversity of tropical forests is largely sustained by optimum temperatures, light, rainfall year round, and efficient nutrient cycling' http://www.maya-culture.de/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/tukan3-klein.jpg

2 Fascination of the Amazon rainforest 2.2 Need for its protection Home for indigenous 'Before 1500 A.D., there were - about 200,000 indigenous, about 6 million indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon. in 170 various groups By the 1900s, there were less - some of the groups have the status than 250,000' (The Nature of unapproachable Conservancy) - threatened by deforestation through illegal lumbering and cattle farmer Sweetwater vapour of the Amazon river - one of the largest freshwater reservoir on earth - provides about 20% of the world-wide freshwater - hydrological cycle affects the climate over wide parts Southamericas

2 Fascination of the Amazon rainforest 2.2 Need for its protection Significance for the world climate - 80 to 120 billion tones carbon are constrained in plants and soil - equal to the ~ 400 times of average greenhouse gas emissions in Germany - Brazil is the fourth largest climate contaminator → 75% of the emissions come from deforestation

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest 3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest 3.1 Pressures on the rainforest Overview of 3.2 Human pressure 3.3. Climate pressure Vulnerability exploitation to c. c. on the forest: on the forest (indirect Deforest. of Exploitation of antropogenic as well) Climate forest for forest resources change soja growing → biomass (timber, security risk Deforest. of biofuel), soil on: forests for (agriculture) - Amazon cattle fields - CO2 storage - food and freshwater

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Overview of 3.2 Human pressure on the rainforest exploitation Deforest. of What is becoming of the Amazonian forest? forest for soja growing Since 1990: Deforest. of forests for - deforestation dynamic has cattle fields developed independently of public investment! - development by financial power of sawmill owners, cattle and soya farmers Figure 2: Threats to the Amazon forest. UNEP, FAO, UNFF (2009).

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Overview of 3.2 Human pressure on the rainforest exploitation Deforest. of major threatens come from: forest for - illegal traded timber soja growing - unsustainable expansion of soya fields Deforest. of and cattle ranching forests for cattle fields others: - illegal mining and hunting - urbanisation, dams, fires - production of bioethanol from sugar cane in the south and southeast of the country - Amazon region is also being considered for the production of fuel from biomass Figure 3: Deforestation causes in the Brazilian Amazon. http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0801- amazon.html

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Leo Freitas / Greenpeace Overview of 3.2 Human pressure on the rainforest exploitation Clearing of forest for soja growing - Brazil is the world’s Clearing of second-largest soya forests for producer cattle fields (52 million t in 2006) → accounting for 23 per cent of the global total - since 2006: soya Moratorium → no trade of soya from new cleared forest Figure 4: Soya production in the Amazon. http://photos.mongabay.com/09/soy_brazilian_amazon_1990-2005_400.jpg

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Overview of 3.2 Human pressure on the rainforest exploitation Clearing of forest for soja growing Clearing of forests for cattle fields → increase in total herd number is related to the increase total deforestation - 70-80% of all cleared areas are cattle fields - Brazil has the largest cattle herd in the world (200 million heads in 2003) - 40% of all brazilian cattles living in the Amazon, about 70 million animals Figure 5: Total cattle herd numbers in Brazil. UNEP, FAO, UNFF (2009).

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Overview of 3.2 Human pressure on the rainforest exploitation Clearing of Why is the cattle breeding so attractive? forest for soja growing regional: global: Clearing of - cheap production costs forests for - increase meat consumption cattle fields - (most illegal) and cheap land acquisition - increasing meat price - cattle producers offer a good infrastructure → selective deforestation and → increasing export of meat and leather construction of abattoirs - unhuman labour conditions Hope: cattle Moratorium signed by four → often sclaves companies (JBS-Friboi, Bertin, Marfrig und Minerva)

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Vulnerability 3.3 Climate pressure on the rainforest to c. c. Climate According to the IPCC (2007)... change security risk - “... recent warming is strongly affecting terrestrial biological systems “ on: - Amazon - especially vulnerable to changes due to global warming are among - CO2 storage others tropical forests - food and → vegetation shift → migration freshwater → changes in fundamental ecological processes and biodiversity, however, significant variations between species in response to climate change * Henry (2010) underlines that 'the impact of climate change in South America is strongly negative '

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest „In the middle of the Amazon Vulnerability 3.3 Climate pressure on the rainforest Basin, people have no water to to c. c. drink.“ (Greenpeace) Climate Climate Change security risk for change the Amazon rainforest security risk on: - potential alteration of hydrological - Amazon cycle as a result of reduction in - CO2 storage evapotranspiration - food and freshwater - increase of drought due to significant warming of oceans → 'savannization' → extinction of a significant number of species (Mortality) Figure 6:Causal loop diagram. Fearnside (1995) Simulations relating to biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest show that by 2095 climate change induced habitat modification could be so extensive as to threaten the survival of 43 per cent of rainforest plant species (Miles et al., 2004).

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest 3.3 Climate pressure on the rainforest Vulnerability to c. c. Climate Change security risk for the Amazon rainforest - possible increased cloudiness in northeast corner (increased evaporation Climate due to temperature rises over oceans) → decrease productivity change - possible decreased cloudiness in the west because of reductions in security risk evapotranspiration due to deforestation on: - Amazon - rise in temperature by 2100 of 2.6–3.7 °C against a 1990 baseline (IPCC - CO2 storage 2007, A1B scenario) - food and - uncertainties about future preciptitation freshwater Figure 7: Causal loop diagram. Fearnside (1995)

3 Threats to the Amazon rainforest Vulnerability 3.3 Climate pressure on the rainforest to c. c. Climate change secutrity risk on carbon storage Climate change - today: tropical forests contribute a carbon sink of 1-3 gigaton (1 billion security risk metric tons) per year on: - Amazon - CO2 storage - future predictions: from 2050 onwards the Amazon region will be able to - food and absorb less and less carbon from the atmosphere; this is because higher air freshwater temperatures combined with increasing dryness will reduce carbon fixing by the rainforest → reduction of carbon storage in the Amazon region → terrestrial biosphere becomes a global source of carbon in future