Deforestation in the Amazon Effects and Responses of the Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante of Brazil Picture from:

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  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:

Deforestation and Indigenous Groups We want to compare and contrast the difference in their attitudes toward the forest Addressing generalization of indigenous groups We want to compare and contrast the difference in their attitudes toward the forest Addressing generalization of indigenous groups The Machiguenga of Peru and the Xavante of Brazil

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:

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:

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. Rational Choice Theory: According to Natalie Smith, “Humans are considered to be cost- benefit analysts capable of making behavioral choices that maximize their self interests”. Machiguenga and their affect on the forest From:

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:

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 free- market 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:

But there is Hope From:

Map from: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky The Xavante Indians of central Brazil however, exemplify the opposite viewpoint, that indigenous people tend to conserve land Xavante as Conservationists

“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.” From: “Brazil’s most traditional indigenous people use modern methods to defend their way of life” by Philip Klasky Intact Forest on Xavante Land

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” 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

Image From: From: -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.” Opposing Development

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: The Other Side

People must be aware and knowledgeable about the problem of Deforestation in the Amazon before a solution can be reached. 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: