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Deforestation for cattle pastureland near Puerto Maldanado. (Photo by R. Butler)
CATTLE and LAND SPECULATION
OVERVIEW
Clearing for pastureland and land speculation purposes is a major cause of tropical forest loss, especially in
Latin America. Cattle are an attractive investment for Amazonian farmers because they are a highly liquid capital
asset with low marginal costs once forest has been cleared. Cattle are used to establish land claims on otherwise
"unoccupied" rainforest land and can be used as a hedge against inflation.
Pastureland is usually cleared by the burning of secondary growth and land previously used for subsistence agriculture.
This burning is especially dangerous under dry conditions when fires can spread into neighboring old-growth rainforest
and cause considerable damage.
ACTIONS
Addressing forest degradation and clearing for pastureland is difficult, but important due to the severe soil leaching
and erosion under traditional grazing systems. Rainforest clearing for cattle can be immediately reduced by eliminating
tax incentives and land policies that encourage such activities. Productivity can be increased on existing pastureland
by introducing agroforestry techniques. Through intercropping—the strategy of planting perennial trees on pastureland—ranchers can diversify their income while reducing soil erosion and maintaining higher soil quality. At the
same time these patches retain considerably higher levels of biological diversity than bare fields. Livestock also
benefits from the shade and adds fertilizer to the base of the trees as they take refuge from the sun.
Such a system should be tested on small holdings before being applied to large pastures. While some problems are
foreseeable with such a system—notably the need for more management and fire control—it could be an important method for
conserving some biodiversity and forest function on pasturelands.
Can cattle ranchers and soy farmers save the Amazon rainforest? June 6, 2007
John Cain Carter believes the only way to save the Amazon is through the market. Carter is a Texas rancher who moved to the heart of the Amazon 11 years ago with his Brazilian wife, Kika, and founded what is perhaps the most innovative organization working in the Amazon, Aliança da Terra. Carter says that by giving producers incentives to reduce their impact on the forest, the market can succeed where conservation efforts have failed.
Saving the Amazon Rainforest Through Agricultural Certification June 3, 2005
A new certification scheme hopes to provide a link between producers and environmentalists by promoting standards of responsible practice that appease both sides. If the project goes as planned, all Brazilian agricultural products will carry a seal that reflects health, environmental, and social standards.
Review questions:
Why is cattle grazing popular in the Amazon?
What is intercropping?
How can the impact of cattle be minimized in the rainforest?
Brazil will forge its own path for developing the Amazon
(5/15/2008) The Brazilian government will use cheap loans, payments, and other benefits to encourage Amazon farmers to reduce their impact on the Amazon rainforest, under a plan unveiled last week
After acquittal, fear of open season on activists in the Amazon rainforest
(5/14/2008) Bishop Flavio Giovenale was crushed by the acquittal last week of a rancher accused of ordering the killing of a crusading American nun — and not just because he admired Dorothy Stang. Giovenale, who spends much of his time battling child prostitution, police corruption and drug abuse, fears the verdict means it's open season again on activists in the Amazon jungle state of Para.
Convicted nun-killer freed in the Brazilian Amazon
(5/14/2008) Charges against a Brazilian rancher convicted of arranging the 2005 murder of a 73-year-old American nun in the Amazon rainforest have been dismissed.
Amazon soy ban seems to be effective in reducing explicit deforestation
(4/3/2008) An industry-led ban on soy production in the Amazon appears to be proving effective at reducing new clearing for explicit soy production, according to a survey published Monday by Greenpeace and the Brazilian Vegetable Oils Industry Association. The moratorium, which was signed by some of the largest soy crushers in the Amazon in response to a campaign by environmental group Greenpeace, went into effect in October 2006. While soy is believed to be having an indirect impact on deforestation by driving up land prices and competing with the dominant form of land use in the Amazon — cattle ranching — the news is a hopeful sign for conservationists.
