Reducing the impact of cattle ranching in the rainforest

Saving What Remains

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

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.

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.

Review questions:

Why is cattle grazing popular in the Amazon?
What is intercropping?
How can the impact of cattle be minimized in the rainforest?

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Continued: Reducing the environmental impact of oil extraction in the rainforest

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