Association for the Preservation and the
Sustainable Use of the Amazon Ecosystems

 

The situation

The destruction of the Brazilian Amazon continues unbroken, in spite of political declarations and considerable financial support from the international community. Unfortunately, sustainable development strategies have not gained enough force to be able to hold or even slow down the agents of destruction.

Pasture for cattle, monoculture plantations as well as the extraction of timber and minerals cause forest losses of huge dimensions. Simultaneously, the aquatic ecosystems are degrading due to predatory fishing, water pollution and destruction of the flooded forests.

Several national and international efforts and programs lead to some positive effects, but the balance of forest destruction continues to be negative.

Sustainable development has failed in the Amazon till now, in spite of the fact that the majority of the smallholders, fishermen and Indians have an intense connection with nature. Most of them want to continue with traditional, responsible ways of forest use. But the forest peoples, who could guarantee sustainable development, live under extremely unstable conditions. More and more young people migrate into town, as they can't see a chance for an acceptable future in the forests.

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