Amazon Forest maintenance as a source of environmental services

Abstract

Amazonian forest produces environmental services such as maintenance of biodiversity, water cycling and carbon stocks. These services have a much greater value to human society than do the timber, beef and other products that are obtained by destroying the forest. Yet institutional mechanisms are still lacking to transform the value of the standing forest into the foundation of an economy based on maintaining rather than destroying this ecosystem. Forest management for commodities such as timber and non-timber forest products faces severe limitations and inherent contradictions unless income is supplemented based on environmental services. Amazon forest is threatened by deforestation, logging, forest fires and climate change. Measures to avoid deforestation include repression through command and control, creation of protected areas, and reformulation of infrastructure decisions and development policies. An economy primarily based on the value of environmental services is essential for long-term maintenance of the forest. Much progress has been made in the decades since I first proposed such a transition, but many issues also remain unresolved. These include theoretical issues regarding accounting procedures, improved quantification of the services and of the benefits of different policy options, and effective uses of the funds generated in ways that maintain both the forest and the human population.

Using fuzzy cognitive maps to describe current system dynamics and develop land cover scenarios: a case study in the Brazilian Amazon

“…In this scenario, the influence of demand on spontaneous colonization received a weight of 1.0, whereas the influence of public policies on old settlements and on conservation reserves received 1.0 and 0.5, respectively. (2) Climate change mitigation: We consider public policies that cut subsidies and stimulate forest conservation through environmental services rewards (Borner and Wunder 2008;Fearnside 2008a). However, we depict a scenario with intensification of dry season severity as a response to climate change (Malhi et al 2009).…”

Global warming in Amazonia: impacts and Mitigation

“…Avoided deforestation is a means of transforming the value of the forest's environmental services into a cash flow that can be used to maintain both the forest and the human population that defends it. Avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases represents the environmental service that it is closest to becoming a significant source of income in Amazonia, while maintaining biodiversity and water cycling are potential sources of value over the long term (Fearnside, 2008c). Use of the value of the forest's role in maintaining the global carbon balance depends on a reliable quantification of the emissions caused by deforestation.…”

Saberes Tradicionais E Conservação Da Biodiversidade: Usos, Fazeres E Vivência Dos Agricultores De Uma Comunidade De Ananindeua – Pa

“…Nesse contexto, a região amazônica é o centro das discussões, haja vista que ela possui a maior floresta tropical contínua do mundo, provê inúmeros serviços ambientais e detém uma biodiversidade inestimável (FEARNSIDE, 2008;MITTERMEIER et al, 2003;RYLANDS et al, 2002). Contudo, o cenário de desenvolvimento aplicado para a região permanece na ampliação das fronteiras agrícolas apoiada na agricultura intensiva, acarretando sérios problemas à manutenção da diversidade biológica dela (VIEIRA et al, 2008;GAZONI;MOTA, 2010).…”

“…Contudo, o cenário de desenvolvimento aplicado para a região permanece na ampliação das fronteiras agrícolas apoiada na agricultura intensiva, acarretando sérios problemas à manutenção da diversidade biológica dela (VIEIRA et al, 2008;GAZONI;MOTA, 2010). Soma-se a isso o avanço das pastagens, que tem sido o principal fator do desmatamento na região, provocando perda de imensas áreas de floresta e de biodiversidade (FEARNSIDE, 2005;RIVERO et al, 2009).…”