Deforestation in the
Amazon
Effects and Responses of the
Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante
of Brazil
Picture from:
http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050208/050208_amazon_hmed_9a.hmedium.jpg
Deforestation in the Amazon
 The Amazon rainforests
have the highest rate of
deforestation
 It’s home to 60% of the
world’s remaining
tropical rainforest
 In these regions
deforestation is mostly
caused by cattle ranching
and agriculture
Chart From: http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html
Deforestation and Indigenous Groups
The Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante of Brazil
• We want to compare and
contrast the difference in
their attitudes toward the
forest
• Addressing
generalization of
indigenous groups
Misconceptions About Indigenous
Groups
• First View: Humans destruct and manipulate the
environment for their uses, whether they are indigenous or
not.
• Second View: Indigenous people’s traditional knowledge
of the land will, if they are given control over the land, help
the Amazon regenerate itself.
Pictures From: http://www.stpauls.it/jesus03/0311je/0311je68.htm
Indigenous People
Are they always caretakers of the
forest?
Traditional practices of
Indigenous people create
relationship with the Earth
that has supported life for
thousands of years
This however may be a
dangerous assumption
For example: The
Machiguenga of Peru
From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm
Machiguenga and their affect
on the forest
Though many indigenous groups, in all
parts of the world, do maintain a
sanctified relationship with their
environment, that is not necessarily
true, for all groups..like the
Machiguenga.
From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm
Rational Choice Theory:
According to Natalie
Smith, “Humans are
considered to be costbenefit analysts capable
of making behavioral
choices that maximize
their self interests”.
Is self-indulgence the only
reason?
It is important to note
that land exploitation
by indigenous people
is not necessarily
because of greed, but
often implemented
due to external
pressures and a
sense of self
preservation
From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm
Joseph Henrich’s idea of market
expansion:
“Many Amazonian researchers insist that the
social, economic, and ecological deterioration
confronting indigenous peoples results from
the inexorable process of capitalist market
expansion. Indigenous peoples seem
compelled by externally imposed political,
social, legal, and economic structures to
pursue short-term, unsustainable economic
strategies that inevitably lead to escalating
rates of the environment’s destruction,
malnutrition, economic dislocation, and social
inequity”.
Unsustainable Land Practices
Forced freemarket expansion
combined with
self-indulgent
“Rational Choice
Theory” creating
unsustainable
land practices
Desire for
income to buy
westernized
commodities
leads to
expansion of
forest commodity
production
From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm
But there is Hope
From: http://www.pbs.org/edens/manu/people.htm
Xavante as Conservationists
The Xavante
Indians of central
Brazil however,
exemplify the
opposite
viewpoint, that
indigenous people
tend to conserve
land
Map from: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky
Intact Forest on Xavante Land
From: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their
way of life” by Philip Klasky
“Large businesses and
landowners, in collusion
with government officials,
lease the land for
pennies on the acre and
then move on when
yields diminish, leaving
huge tracts of denuded,
depleted soil....[At] the
edge of the tilled
horizon...[is] the
beginning of the
Xavante reservation, a
great verdant
landscape....The sight of
intact old growth jungle,
palm forest, and
grasslands [is]
revitalizing.”
Traditions and Practices
-The Xavante have been returning to a more traditional way of life,
substituting wild foods such as fish, game and wild plants for farmed products
-These activities don’t require forest clearance; on the contrary, they require
forested area in order to be sustained
Left From: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky
Chart From: “Tapirs, Tractors, and Tapes: The Changing Economy and Ecology of the Xavante Indians of Central Brazil”
Opposing Development
-The Xavante are vocally opposed to the Hidrovia Project - the
construction of an industrial waterway along the Rio das
Mortes
-”If this Hidrovia is to be constructed, it will be the end of
our animals, it will cause great damage to the environment, it
will ruin an important part of the food of our people, fish,
and turtles. It will do away with the homes of many animals,
dolphins, river otters, cayman, and others.”
From: http://abyayala.nativeweb.org/brazil/xavante.html
Image From: http://www.ahimoc.com.br/interna.php?nomeArquivo=hidrovia
The Other
Side
• Other Xavante actions contradict
this image of the “Ecologically
Noble Savage”
• Xavante are largely dependant on
government assistance
• “Social security has become so
important to the Xavante that they
exert continuous pressure on
FUNAI [Brazilian Indian Foundation]
to increase the number of old men
and women eligible to receive social
security.”
From: “Tapirs, Tractors and Tapes: The Changing Economy and
Ecology of the Xavante Indians of Central Brazil” From: “Tapirs, Tractors
and Tapes: The Changing Economy and Ecology of the Xavante Indians
of Central Brazil”
• Xavante also make money by
leasing some of their land to cattle
ranchers
Image From: http://www.gcollier.com/t4.html
Amazon Deforestation
• Government and Conservation Groups
should consider:
-The people who live in
the Amazon and how
they are affected by
the local conditions
-Educating all people,
especially those that
live in the Amazon,
about deforestation
From: http://inkasperu.com/tours/amazon/amazon.html
People must be aware and knowledgeable about the
problem of Deforestation in the Amazon before a solution
can be reached.