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Overview of the Amazon Forest

The Amazon Rainforest is a tropical rainforest that occupies the drainage basin of the Amazon River. It covers an area of 6000,000 km2. It is one of the major tourist destinations and boasts of having several million species of plants, birds, and other forms of life (Heuser , 2018). It has many species of trees that are on high demand and hence making the forest vulnerable to logging. The species of trees include Rosewood, Brazil Nut, Palm Tree, Laurel, and Myrtle (Heuser , 2018).

In the 20th century, Brazil and other countries surrounding the Amazon forest experienced rapid population growth. The rapid population growth prompted many people to clear some parts of the Amazon forest in-order-to acquire land to settle. Most people also wanted land for farming and grazing (Ometto & Dutra , 2014). Over the past forty years, the Amazon Region has witnessed changes in the land cover, with most people cutting down trees in-order-to create room for cattle ranching and subsistence farming. The movements of people into the Amazon region have also created immense opportunities for illegal loggers (Ometto & Dutra , 2014).

Illegal loggers have been the main subject of discussion when-it-comes to how countries occupying the Amazon region can combat deforestation activities. However, in Brazil, the southern and eastern parts of the Amazon region are the ones that have been most affected by deforestation activities (Ometto & Dutra , 2014). The two regions have together been-dubbed as the ''arc of deforestation.''

In the 21st century, economic changes that have been brought about by the economic developments across Brazil and other countries surrounding the Amazon forest, such as Peru have ignited a fire aimed at promoting deforestation activities. The development of the construction industry has created a high demand for timber. On the other hand, the agribusiness sector has created a high demand for farmland (Ometto & Dutra , 2014). Many people who want to leverage the opportunities brought about by the two sectors are-thus left with no option but to turn to the Amazon forest as the solution to their financial problems. Therefore, illegal logging activities have increased dramatically, and they have even gone to great lengths to attract powerful cartels who are well connected. The powerful cartels have undermined and derailed the efforts of the Brazilian government and other governments in enforcing laws aimed at reducing and eliminating deforestation activities (Ometto & Dutra , 2014).

Two countries that have stood out in the fight against deforestation activities in the Amazon region are Ecuador and Brazil. In 2007, the government of Ecuador came up with a creative plan to preserve a portion of the forest within its borders. After having planned to drill oil beneath the forest, the government of Ecuador agreed to forego the plan (Ometto & Dutra , 2014). The government of Ecuador had agreed to forego the plan only if other countries contributed half of the oil deposits value to a United Nations Administered trust fund for Ecuador. However, Ecuador's plans to save the rainforest were-foiled after countries only raised 6.5 million USD.

Since the 1980s, the Brazilian National Institute for Space and Research has been-involved-in the monitoring of the Amazon region. It has provided a map of deforestation activities in the Amazon forest that helps stakeholders involved in the fight against deforestation activities to know the exact points where deforestation activities occur.

Therefore, deforestation in the Amazon forest is a contemporary issue that needs to-be-addressed. The changing economic conditions across the world fuel the burning desire to cut down trees in-order-to sell them to the expanding construction industry. The high demand for farm produce across the world has also facilitated deforestation activities in the Amazon region. The United States of America is especially a large source of market for most of Brazil's farm produce (Ometto & Dutra , 2014).

During the 1980s, the Brazilian government resorted to reducing the wages of its citizens. The policy of reducing real wages reduced labor costs across Brazil, including the Amazon region. The cartels involved in the cutting down of trees were thus favored because they could pay little wages and salaries. Many people in the rural areas were thus employed and were involved in the cutting down of trees (Frickman , 2014). The policy of reducing real wages also resulted in landless workers with minimal opportunities to succeed in the labor market. They saw no need for traveling to the urban areas and instead opted for looking for more space in the rural regions of the Amazon.

The Brazilian government was under intense pressure to channelize the road networks and increase the number of roads connecting rural areas with urban areas. With the dire need to import more farm produce, the Brazilian government was-forced to construct more roads in-order-to make it easy for farmers to transport their farm produce to the urban areas (Frickman , 2014). The expansion of road networks all across Brazil created more opportunities for deforestation. Farmers realized that they could sell more in the urban markers and thus opted to clear more land in the Amazon region in-an-effort to create space for farming.

In the 1990s, the Brazilian government enacted various policies that were- aimed at promoting exports of farm produce to other parts of the world. The strategies deployed in ensuring that the policy was a success were subsidizing the costs of farm inputs for most of the Brazilian farmers and the expansion of large scale modern crop cultivation (Frickman , 2014). Expansion of the large scale modern crop cultivation was concentrated-in the southern parts of the Amazon region. The southern parts of the Amazon region were-deemed to be fertile.

Export incentives also increased the prices of land. Farmers made more profits and became motivated to sell their plots and move into the Amazon (Frickman , 2014). Therefore, farmers took advantage of the incentives offered by the Brazilian government and the increase in land prices in-order-to make maximum profits from their farming activities (Frickman , 2014). The only solution remaining after they sold their land was to move into the Amazon. More and more farmers continued occupying the Amazon as they took advantage of the increase in land prices (Frickman , 2014)

In the 20th century, the government of Brazil depicted a considerable interest in Agriculture. The government awarded special-credit lines to farmers that were associated with negative real interest rates (Frickman , 2014). Land use patterns thus increased as more people resorted to farming as their major-source-of income. They decided to do so after realizing that the benefits of investing in agriculture were rewarding. Incentives in cattle ranching also facilitated deforestation. More farmers cut down trees so-as-to create room for their cattle. The policy was-aimed-at helping farmers scale up their investment faster but failed to account for the measures to be undertaken to reduce deforestation (Frickman , 2014).

The governments of countries surrounding the Amazon forest, includes Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. Although the governments have tried to reduce deforestation, there are still loopholes left for illegal loggers and miners who use the rainforest to fulfill their selfish interests. However, the governments have allowed licensed loggers to be involved in the cutting down of trees (Heuser , 2018). The move has resulted in illegal loggers and miners taking advantage of the fact that there are licensed loggers and miners who have-been allowed to carry out their operations in the Amazon forest (Heuser , 2018).

Farmers use the Amazon Rainforest to grow their crops. They are regarded- as one of the largest contributors to deforestation in the Amazon (Heuser , 2018)The farmers are small-scale or large-scale farmers, but all have an immense effect on the deforestation activities in the Amazon rainforest.

Loggers may either be licensed or illegal. The licensed loggers pay a small fee to the government of the country that they come. The illegal loggers are part of cartels that have powerful connections in high profile government positions (Heuser , 2018).

Amazon is known to contain precious minerals beneath. Therefore, it has attracted miners who, just like the loggers, may either be illegal or licensed. However, their effect on deforestation is not that much as compared to that of the loggers and farmers (Heuser , 2018).

The Brazilian government has initiated the Brazilian Federal Government National Climate Change Plan that was-aimed-at reducing deforestation in the Amazon region. The move was motivated by the environmental issues that arose as a result of high deforestation activities. The environmental- issues also contributed to the overall climate change experienced by the citizens of Brazil (Boucher, 2013) The Brazilian government thus initiated the Brazilian Federal Government National Climate Change Plan in response to the increased emission levels brought about by the deforestation activities. The plan was to reduce emissions from deforestation by 80%.

State Actions

The Brazilian government shares responsibilities in creating effective land-use policies within their geographical government and has included all its states in its plan to reduce deforestation activities. The states that have recorded the highest number of deforestation activities are the state of MatoGrosso and Parra. However, the state officials in the two states have lobbied for support from the Brazilian government in the-enactment-of more robust anti-deforestation policies (Boucher, 2013)The Amazon state that has recorded the highest rate of economic development has achieved a substantial decrease in its emissions levels from deforestation activities (Boucher, 2013).

Other than colluding with the states to curb deforestation, the Brazilian government also engages the community in ensuring that no trees are cut- down. Villages that have shown a strong commitment to the preservation of trees are paid and are-awarded more development opportunities. Finally, the government supports education and health in rural areas (Boucher, 2013).

In 2007, the Norwegian government declared its support to tropical rainforest conservation. Through its prime minister, Jens Stolternberg, the Norwegian government donated 2.5 billion USD towards the conservation of forests all around the world. Brazil was able to access a section of the funds through the Amazon Fund (Boucher, 2013). It signed a climate policy cooperation with Norway. For the policy to be a success, the Brazilian government had to show its progress in curbing deforestation. If it had made positive progress, it was allocated more funds through the Amazon Fund (Boucher, 2013).

Federal Public Prosecutors, especially in states with the highest number of deforestation activities such as Para and MatoGrosso have ensured that customers in their states buy non-deforestation beef. The laws in Para and MattoGrosso require that cattle ranchers provide Global Positioning Systems coordinates of their ranches (Boucher, 2013). They are-then-ordered to sell them in-an-effort to phase out any cases of deforestation that creates space for cattle ranches (Boucher, 2013). The use of remote sensing technologies enables law enforcers to know the ranches that violate environmental laws. Supermarkets and other food outlets have been-warned against the selling of meat that is-sourced from cattle ranches (Boucher, 2013).

There are often questions as to whether the money generated from Amazon's environmental services is used for political gains or used to protect the Amazon rainforest from deforestation (Philip Feanside , 2012). Governments are not trusted when it comes to the distribution of the financial benefits realized from Amazon. Although there are many programs launched by the Brazilian government to support communities living in the Amazon region, there are many questions as to where those programs exist (Philip Feanside , 2012).

For example, the Amazon BolstaFloresta program benefits 5000 people occupying the Amazon regions. The BolsaFamilia program is another initiative that has helped communities living in the Amazon regions to participate in income-generating activities. However, many still argue that the funds allocated towards the programs are not a true reflection of the money gained from Amazon's environmental services. They propose that communities should be given more funds as compared to what they are-currently allocated.

Questions have been-asked-on whether the money allocated to the Amazon Fund goes into the pockets of corrupt individuals or is used to reinforce the existing measures aimed at protecting the Amazon forest. Stakeholders go against their moral obligation of upholding the-highest-level-of transparency and accountability when handling funds meant for the protection of the Amazon rainforest (Philip Feanside , 2012).

The Brazilian government can take the following measures in-order-to ensure that everyone is accountable and is involved in eradicating deforestation in the Amazon forest (Philip Feanside , 2012).

Strengthening forest management and regulation

The Brazilian government should clearly state the relevant authorities involved in the eradication of deforestation. The relevant-authorities should be aware of their respective responsibilities. The relevant-authorities should also set laws and regulations that limit the activities of loggers and miners. Farmers should be considerably limited. However, the rules and regulations should not be too stringent because they would encourage illegal activities (Robledo & Teresa, 2014).

Designing and implementing instruments that contribute to the reduction of deforestation

The government should adequately design the financial instruments and the legal instruments needed in the reduction of deforestation. It should provide a sophisticated framework that ensures a stable supply of funds required in the protection of the Amazon rainforest. The legal framework should account for the limitations within which no party is allowed to cross(Robledo & Teresa, 2014). It should also provide a clear outline of the penalties that any party will be subjected to if it went against the stated laws.

Strengthening the analysis of the impacts of policies

There is often no guarantee that the policies put-in-place will always solve the issue of deforestation. Therefore, the Brazilian government has the responsibility of evaluating the performance of its previous policies (Robledo & Teresa, 2014). Analysis of the impacts of decisions will help the stakeholders to make necessary adjustments on the already existing decisions or to create new policies in-an-effort to ensure that the policies in place are effective (Robledo & Teresa, 2014).

Provision of transparent and accountable leadership

Over the years, there have been issues regarding the-manner-in-which the funds meant for the protection of the Amazon forest are-handled. The issues have slowed down the process of reducing deforestation activities. Therefore, the Brazilian government should provide quality leadership that is- incorporated with transparency and accountability (Robledo & Teresa, 2014). Transparency and accountability ensure that all the communities living in the Amazon region get access to quality healthcare and education. Transparency and accountability will also facilitate the idea of helping the people in the Amazon region move from abject poverty to reasonable living standards.

Quality leadership will ensure that all the interests of all the stakeholders are-factored in. Accounting for the interests of all the stakeholders will ensure that all parties make progress towards reducing deforestation activities (Robledo & Teresa, 2014).

Drastic restriction of the market for products associated with new deforestation

Conclusion

There is no argument that deforestation remains a dominant issue in Brazilian politics. The issue has remained unsolved over the years because of the complexities in the implementation of policies at the government level. All the other stakeholders rely on the direction given by the government. They do so in-order-to align themselves with the objectives of the deforestation policies. The Brazilian government is also responsible for the provision of the financial muscle required in the implementation of policies essential in the reduction of deforestation activities.

Therefore, leadership remains one of the critical factors in ensuring that all activities aimed at reducing deforestation are-carried out conveniently. The enforcement of rules and regulations is another crucial factor that heavily relies on transparent and quality leadership. The Brazilian government should thus ensure that it provides good leadership that will ignite the success of other factors involved in the eradication of deforestation.

1) Boucher, D. (2013). Brazil's Sucess in Reducing Deforestation . Tropical Conservation Science .

2) Frickman , C. E. (2014). Public Policies and Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

3) Heuser , S. (2018). The Effectiveness of Environmental Policies on Reducing Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon . Maastricht : Boekeplan.

4) Ometto , J. P., & Dutra , A. P. (2014). Amazon Deforestation in Brazil: Effects, Drivers and Challenges. Carbon Management. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276302940

5) Philip Feanside . (2012). Brazil's Amazon Forest in Mitigating Global Warming: Unresolved Controversies . Climate Policy .

6) Robledo , V., & Teresa, M. B. (2014). Instruments and Policy Strategies for Reducing Deforestation in the Colombian Amazon Region. Colombo: Earth Innovation Institute.