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This illustration shows SIX groups that are interested in the Amazon Rainforest. Some want to use the rainforest to make a living. Others want to preserve the rainforest in its natural state. Keep the possible conflicts among these groups in mind as you answer the essential question;
HOW SHOULD THE RESOURCES OF THE RAINFOREST BE USED?
Picture yourself in a hot, steamy forest. It has just stopped raining. Everything around you is green and moist. Green vines wind around the slender trunks of trees that reach more than 100 feet into the air. High overhead, a tangle of vines, branches, and leaves nearly blocks out the sun. Except for the buzzing of insects, the forest is nearly silent. Then you hear a strange barking sound coming from the treetops. You look up and get your first glimpse of a red howler monkey.
Welcome to the Amazon rainforest, a huge tropical rainforest in South America. The rainforest seems timeless, yet it is changing rapidly. For thousands of years, small groups of indigenous peoples have made their home here. These native Amazonians live by hunting and gathering. In more recent times, other groups have come to the rainforest. They include rubber tappers, farmers, cattle ranchers, and loggers. In addition, the rainforest is of great interest to environmental groups. These are organizations that work to protect the natural world.
Each of these groups has its own ideas about the Amazon rainforest. Some want to use the rainforest to make a living. Others want to preserve it in its natural state. These differences have led to land use conflict, or arguments about the best ways to use the land. In this chapter, you will learn what the different groups want. You will also learn about possible solutions to land use conflict in the Amazon rainforest.
The Geographic Setting
Tropical rainforests are a type of broadleaf evergreen forest. They are found near the equator, where the climate is warm and wet all year. The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. It covers more than 2 million square miles. That is more than half the size of the United States! Most of this vast rainforest lies in Brazil. It also covers parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela.
A Many-Layered Ecosystem
A rainforest is a complex ecosystem with many layers. The bottom, or ground, layer is the forest floor. The thick layer of overlapping tree branches at the very top of the forest called the canopy.
Scientists use the term biodiversity to describe the variety of plants and animals living in one area. The great biodiversity of rainforests attracts scientists who study flora and fauna.
Other groups have different reasons for coming to the rainforest. Some people come to clear land for farming or ranching. The result is deforestation, or the removal of trees from large areas. Once cleared, the rainforest cannot grow back - it is an ecosystem that evolved over thousands of years. Other people are more interested in sustainable development. This means finding ways to use the resources of the rainforest without destroying it.
The Lungs of the Earth
Many people around the world worry about the fate of the Amazon rainforest. A major reason for their concern is that tropical rainforests affect life far beyond their borders. The trees and plants that grow in these dense forests have been called the “lungs of the Earth.”
This nickname comes from the key role that rainforests play in Earth’s carbon-oxygen cycle. This series of events turns a gas called carbon dioxide, or CO2, into oxygen. Then it turns the oxygen back into CO2. In this way, carbon and oxygen are “cycled” among the living things that need them to survive.
Here is how the cycle works. When people and other animals breathe, their bodies take in oxygen and breathe out CO2. Cars and factories also produce CO2 as a waste product when burning fuel. Trees and other plants absorb CO2 from the air. The plants use the carbon for their growth. They release the oxygen back into the air as a waste product. When people and other animals breathe in this oxygen, the cycle begins again.
Because they are rich in plant life, rainforests are a major part of the carbon-oxygen cycle. Scientists believe that the Amazon rainforest alone creates a quarter of Earth’s oxygen. The oxygen you are breathing right now may have come from a rainforest tree.
The class is to be divided into six groups representing the people interested in using the rainforest resources. You and your team must learn about the needs and wants of your group. Write down what you learn in your notes... and be prepared to share!
CLOSURE: Beginning to Think Globally
In this lesson, you read about land use conflict in the Amazon rainforest. You learned that the rainforest is an important part of the carbon-oxygen cycle. It is also rich in biodiversity. But since the 1960s, loggers, settlers, and ranchers have cleared large parts of the rainforest. Native Amazonians, rubber tappers, and environmental groups oppose this deforestation. Still, the rainforest is shrinking year by year.
On the back of your notes, take a moment to reflect.
What do you think can be done to help save the rainforest?
An amazing variety of plants and animals live in the various layers of the rainforest. Rainforests cover about 6 percent of the Earth’s surface. But they are home to about 50 percent of the world’s living things.
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