Learn how the Brazilian government incentivized forest clearing in the Amazon for beef production and ranching
Deforestation of the Amazon River basin has followed a pattern of cutting, burning, farming, and grazing. This process is then repeated on adjacent plots of land, steadily pushing back the borders of the Amazon Rainforest.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Brazilian government offered incentives to both corporations and individuals to clear land in the Amazon.
The Amazon was viewed as territory to be conquered, settled, and developed, much as 19th-century Americans viewed the western United States. As the forest is cleared, the resulting timber is rarely used, and burning is the easiest way to be rid of it.
The land may be farmed for a few years until the soil is depleted, but the single largest use of cleared land in the Amazon and in Central America is beef production. Although ranching has long been practiced in southern Brazil, it has moved north into the Amazon only in recent decades. However, once the land is grazed, it is very difficult for the rainforest to return.
The Amazon was viewed as territory to be conquered, settled, and developed, much as 19th-century Americans viewed the western United States. As the forest is cleared, the resulting timber is rarely used, and burning is the easiest way to be rid of it.
The land may be farmed for a few years until the soil is depleted, but the single largest use of cleared land in the Amazon and in Central America is beef production. Although ranching has long been practiced in southern Brazil, it has moved north into the Amazon only in recent decades. However, once the land is grazed, it is very difficult for the rainforest to return.
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