DEFORESTATION AROUND THE WORLD - India Environment Portal

1. Introduction
Impacts of Deforestation on Climate
and Water Resources in Western Amazon
2
Ranyére Silva Nóbrega
University Federal of Pernambuco
Brazil
The Amazon importance in several areas of research demonstrates how the region affects
the balance of South America and, depending on the scale used, on the planet. The
biodiversity, mineral wealth, water resources wealth, carbon sequestration, transport of
energy in the atmosphere are examples of important aspects of the region. Another
important phenomenon that occurs in the Amazon are the energy flows between soilvegetation-atmosphere
dynamics that affect the climate, water resources and the advection
of moisture to the surrounding parts.
Deforestation is the major environmental problem in the Amazon River basin nowadays,
and its impacts affect both the local and global scale. In fact, this region is responsible for
approximately 13% of all global runoff into the oceans (Foley et al., 2002) and its abundant
vegetation releases large amounts of water vapor through evapotranspiration leading to a
recycling in precipitation of about 25-35% (Brubaker et al, 1993; Eltahir and Bras, 1994;
Trenberth, 1999).
Rondonia State, located in Western Amazon, already has a large area of vegetation changed
by deforestation. Historically, there were tax incentives and government so that there was
an expansion of development. Today the concern with changes in environmental balance of
the Amazon basin, Rondônia, is justified by the increasing pressure on various forms of
exploitation of the region, for example, timber extraction and agricultural expansion, the
construction of hydropower, exploitation of biological and mineral riches.
Krusche et al. (2005) suggest the following reasons for this progress: between 1970 and 1990
there was a surge in state occupancy with settlers coming from other regions, extensive
cattle ranching became the main economic activity and the state ground most is old and
weathered, with the exception of some basins, promoting agriculture in an appropriate area.
According to the authors, the pattern of occupancy was observed of the "fishbone"
associated with the opening of roads.
The highway BR-364construction, responsible for turning the region with the rest of the
country, was one of the factors that triggered large projects of colonization / occupation.
Earlier this deforestation process was seen as boon, as a prerequisite for applying for tenure
and subsequent legalization of land (Santos, 2001). Fearnside (2007) assert that the main
aspect of change in land use / land cover in region is deforestation, and that it has grown
over the years.