Croppers Pose New Threat to Amazon Rainforest

Despite Brazil having made great strides in reducing logging in the Amazon region, a US study says the country faces a renewed threat to its forests.

The report’s authors - who focused on the Amazon states of Mato Grosso and Pará, where they interviewed ranchers and meat processors - say the cost of raising beef cattle is prompting many ranchers to consider switching to crops such as palm oil.

The study by Datu Research, a global economic research firm based in Washington DC. was commissioned by the Environmental Defense Fund.

After decades of deforestation, it says, efforts to curb the losses have been working.  Between 2005 and 2013, the rate of loss fell by nearly 80% - although  the Brazilian government’s figures show that losses rose again by 29% in the year to 31 July 2013.

The beef industry, meanwhile, which had caused nearly 75% of earlier deforestation, has continued to grow rapidly.
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But the forests face problems from another quarter. The authors of the Datu Research study say pressure from Western companies requiring deforestation-free supply chains for beef from the Amazon risks being overwhelmed by big increases in demand from non-Western countries.
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Poor regulation of cattle-raising is another problem - expensive for those ranchers who comply with the rules, yet allowing those who ignore them to escape with impunity.  Licensing agencies sometimes lose entire applications, and illicit cattle operations can still enter legitimate supply chains.

Croppers Pose New Threat to Amazon Rainforest