Question

Should countries like the United States deman Brazil to stop deforestation of the Amazon rainforest after what we have done to our own territory and landscape? If not what would you propose to do to minimize the damage?

Answer 1

Some concrete steps have to be taken to stop deforestation. These are as follows:

• A way to balance development and preservation is to encourage sustainable development. In Brazil, this means finding ways to use the rainforest without destroying it. One way is by growing crops that don't require large areas to be cleared.
  An example of such a crop is shade-grown coffee.
• Strip logging also helps in preventing deforestation. Instead of clear-cutting large areas, strip loggers clear long, narrow strips of forest. The forest grows back in these strips far more quickly than in large clear-cut areas.
• Promoting ecotourism will also help in preservation of forests.Boat tours of the Amazon rainforest attract ecotourists from all over the world. Ecotourism offers many benefits. It creates jobs for people in the tourist industry. It helps the economy by bringing in money. Most important, it gives people a reason to preserve the places that eco-tourists come to see.
• Consumers can help protect the rainforest by buying products that support sustainable development. Examples include ice creams and cereals made with Brazil nuts. The companies that make these products buy the nuts from native Amazonians. This helps native peoples make a living without damage to the rainforest. Another example is wood products.
• The most promising approach however is the concept of food forets in permanculture which consists of agroforestal systems carefully designed to mimic natural forests, with an ephasis on plant and animal species of interest fod food, timber and other uses. These systems have low dependence on fossil fuels and are highly self-maintaining, highly productive, and with storng positive impact on soil and water quality, and boidoiveirsty.
• Encouraging the growth of programs aimed at curbing deforestation. Some of them are already been promoted by UN and World Bank. These programmes use direct monetary or other incentives to encourage developing countries to limit and/or roll back deforestation.

To conclude it is of immense importance to control deforestation as early as possible or elaecwe will have to face strict consequences in terms of pollution, floods and other natural disasters.