Over the past 30 years 15% of the Brazilian Amazon has been completely destroyed, reaching over 590,000 square kilometers, an area larger than France. One of the driving forces behind this destruction has been the dramatic increase in predatory illegal logging. In the last two decades, the Amazon’s contribution to Brazil’s total production of tropical wood rose from 12 to 90 percent, region providing an estimated 30 millions cubic meters of logs per year. According to official data, it is estimated that 80 percent of logs cut in the Amazon are of illegal origin. (pars. 3 & 5)
It is evident that that practice is in the center of damages and disasters in the environment; it is increasing violence, especially in Para, which is known not only as "a state with the highest murder rate related to land disputes”, but also "responsible for approximately one third of the Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon” (Greenpeace International, 2005, par.5&6). It is in Para where both the American Sister Dorothy Stang and Chico Mendes were killed because of their struggle against illegal logging and their defense of the poor local communities (Greenpeace International, 2005). And also it provokes the loss of species and their habitat, it deepens poverty in some local population that needs the forest and its resources for survival. As a result, the problem has concerned the Brazilian government that works with his agency IBAMA in order to fight the practice, which is much more linked to the traffic of Mahogany (the most used and cut wood in the Amazon) (Greenpeace US, 2003), and one of the factors that give access to illegal logging in Amazon is the roads built inside the forest (Phillips, 2007, The Guardian International).
What is the point of having a great forest while it is not well protected? Do people wonder about the environmental dangers that can occur after destroying the forest? Certainly, that is what is happening in the Amazon rainforest through illegal logging; but immediate actions and solutions are possible to keep it away from the practice and decline that. Being aware of the problem, thus, they should reinforce and review the security plan, apply the transparency and strong authorities in the actions, reduce poverty, supervise timber industries work, and target the most damaged areas.
Regarding the Amazon size, the security must be efficient and guaranteed to deal with illegal loggers that use violence and crime to save their affairs. According to Butler (2007), “Violent conflicts between landowners, poor colonists, and indigenous groups over land are not unusual in the Amazon and maybe worsening” (par. 22). Therefore, the Brazilians government is obliged to reinforce and revaluate again some of the security strategies; even if they are using “satellite” detector to control all the logging in the Amazon forest, that is not only like a main point to break the practice, which is largely widespread, but also, a step that should be joined with other systems to make it stronger. Here is a way, before deploying a security force in such area of the Amazon, it is better for Brazilian authorities to master all the four squares of the Amazon, then establish a real plan, which is going to analyze the practical feasibility of the actions and the number of security agents such as police, and soldiers who must be sent in different areas regarding the gravity of illegal logging. Most the illegal loggers are malign and cunning due to their experience in the traffic. Asner said, “Much of the logging [in Brazil] is illegal but difficult to enforce, because it is usually clandestine” (as cited in National Geographic News by Owen, 2005). They may also struggle with security agents sent for protecting an area, because they also use guns. Consequently, the security force must be well equipped with appliances and materials able to deal with those people. That is possible to be fulfilled; because the problem is strongly known throughout the world and some international organizations are informed about that. In “Our role in stopping the Brazilian mahogany trade”, Greenpeace states, “illegal logging is a global problem” (2003, par.45). However, it should not be easy for Brazilians authorities to solve the entire problem by themselves, because they will need some financial support from outside, such as international community or other organizations for environment such as the Global Environment Organization (GEO). Also, the international police and Interpol should be in order to strengthen the security actions in the Amazon rainforest. Indeed, even the United Nations Security Council should be required to do something about that. Otherwise, the reinforcement of security should not only be inside or around the forest but also in all the borders of Brazil with other countries; this control has to be systematic and reinforced in the airports, ports, train stations and in all corners, where timber might be found and might need to be justified regarding its origins and precision of destinations, and the loggers for their personal identities. The capacity of security is a factor not to be neglected for facing this illegal logging and its realities in the Amazon rainforest.
In the second part, they should consider transparency as one of the ways for declining the traffic, in the case that it will lead to good management and administration, justice, responsibility, rightness, and lucidity in the issue and the work. The lack of these steps will more likely deepen illegal logging; beyond that, the concern is to suppress the problem. Achieving that goal, the responsibility should come first from Brazilians citizens, timber industries, and other Brazilian authorities from federal governments. About citizens, mostly local people and other communities who live in the area nearest the forest, it is for their responsibility to fight first those illegal practices, for instance, by giving to some nearest authorities all possible information about illegal loggers and what happen in the forest. If not, perhaps their situation and the problems that they encounter from illegal loggers will not really overcome. For the Brazilian administration, they should also emphasize their actions over the disciplinary measures; this means that like people, citizens, and companies or industries, once dreaded in the traffic of illegal logging, which breaks the rules of law, they should consider them as criminal and send them to justice. Also, not only like for timber cutters to be sent to justice, but also, all their actions have to be suspended both on the national level and the international level, then as a penalty they should be required to pay a fine, and that may help to promote some environmental projects of reforestating or replanting trees cut in the forest. Furthermore, the task is also to insist on all other authorities of federal government, and a security agency to take some attitude of responsibility in their area, to be right in their actions for fighting illegal logging (loggers); they should not work with cupidity, and are supposed to stay away from not only all temptations but also advantages or benefits to get from illegal loggers that may disorientate them from their principal purpose, but they should much more struggle for facilitating the application of all rules that define the practice of logging. In his “initiative against illegal logging”, President Bush and his former secretary of state, Powell (2003), suggested the support of all the initiatives related to the forest principle and management as one of the actions to take for declining illegal logging in the Amazon. Those are how responsible people should behave in those steps in order to reach the goal of stop this phenomenon.
Third, some local populations are getting involved in the practice of illegal logging because they are under a miserable situation. For some of them, the best way to survive is not only working in the forest by replanting or sustaining trees, but also facilitating illegal loggers. That’s why it is very crucial for Brazilian authorities and others where the Amazon rainforest crosses to improve the life conditions of those people by giving them insurance, protection, and some important occupations, and promoting their initiatives of sustaining forest. According to Hendershot (n.d), the Brazilian president and government projected a sustainability logging program with the purpose of decreasing illegal logging and employing most of the rural population, it will be evident that illegal logging should be decreased in some areas; because those activities will be supported by authorities or other organizations gathered to fight for the declining of illegal logging. In fact, what keeps them in those traffic of cutting trees illegally, is that perhaps they are not benefiting from any support; also, some of them may be hopeless about their life and have no idea about what to do like an activity; that is why they are sometimes exposed to do anything they can do to survive and help their lives and families. The poverty should be reduced in order to get some local communities out of the traffic of illegal logging.
Fourth, in other ways, declining the impact of this activity, some limit must be given to people, operators or timber industries that even log legally. The reason for this is that even if they are reliable to thank to their legalities of respecting the law enforcement on the forest, there is nothing wrong if their activities should be supervised in order to avoid some mistakes and irregularities likely to log some timber illegally. In Nature News: Amazon protection to be expanded in Brazil’s Para state, Deutsche Presse- Agentur (2006) wrote, “the new law, which the federal government said was aimed at halting destruction of the vital ecosystem and gaining oversight of logging, granted timber companies up to 40-year licenses under the condition that all logging be sustainable” (par.9). This is because there can be a strong probability for those people under their activity, which is considered as legal, to transport or cut trees illegally. In the same way, they must be deprived in some of logging. In addition, before they can be allowed to have access in the harvesting of timber, they should be required to demonstrate such a plan of a good management of forest after using that. If it is not the case, therefore, they must not be permitted to undertake actions in the forest.
Fifth, in addition to classifying the most illegal logging parts in the Amazon, that system will be helpful so that all the areas could be targeted. The cause of this is important for organizations, governments, environmentalists, experts on forest studies, and even reporters to make some estimates and statistics to tell about the amount of timber harvested illegally per year or month. For instance, A. Cooper of CNN, Dr. S. Gupta, and Animal Planet J. Corwin, did some investigations in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in order to know about the real problem of illegal logging and its causes and effects in the environment. Moreover, they should also target the entire private sector held by some landowners so that they could be returned to the control of authorities. However, they should proceed to the closure of all the ways leading inside the forests, which give access to most illegal loggers. In other words, even the roads that have been drawn before and connect some of the areas as the main way, must be suppressed for a moment in order to find other possibilities of creating other ones, well controlled and protected, which would not really contribute to the loss of forest. Phillips(2007), wrote that “it is estimated that there are more than 105,000 miles of viscinais in the Amazon region-illegal dirt tracks that meander through indigenous territories, government land and ecological reserves and which pave the way for the continued destruction of the world’s largest forest” (par.4). Thus, this plan should be linked to those of security for efficiency.
In conclusion, it is evident that the problem exists, and its effects are believable and manifest. However, declining that illegal logging through right and concrete actions would be important solutions to save the Amazon rainforest. Consequently, the security examination should be reviewed to face all criminal loggers who mass murder the rural communities and the forest. All the local population and timber companies should be responsible in the fighting of illegal logging in the areas where they are. Also, the Brazilian authorities must consider the transparency as a way to fortify their actions and make them more responsible, then, work hard for the economic growth of the country so that the poor rural population could benefit from some financial or social support to survive again and give rise to their work of sustaining forest for counting on them in the struggle of reducing illegal logging. Next, most of the timber industries’ actions should be reevaluated regularly and controlled to avoid some imperfections in the logging process. Finally, in order to have a large vision of what is happening in the Amazon rainforest, the inventory of all the damaged areas and roads that give access to the forest should be taken for the precise aims of stopping illegal logging with possible solutions.
References
Butler,R.A. (2007). Amazon Destruction: why is the rainforest being destroyed in Brazil? The Amazon. Retrieved November 17, 2007, from Amazon Destruction
Cooper, A., Corwin, J., & Gupta, S. (Executive producers). (2007). Planet in Peril. [Television Program]. Atlanta: A CNN Worldwide investigation.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (2006, December 04). Amazon protection to be expanded in Brazil’s Para State. Nature News. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from Amazon Protection
Greenpeace International. (2005, February 13). Nun assassinated defending Amazon. Greenpeace News. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from Sister Dorothy against illegal logging.
Greenpeace UK. (2001, September 04). The Amazon Rainforest: history. Retrieved November 12, 2007, from history of illegal logging in the Amazon.
Greenpeace USA. (2004, November 21). The Amazon rainforest. Greenpeace news. Retrieved November 12, 2007, from Greenpeace about Amazon rainforest.
Greenpeace USA. (2003, October 15). Our role in stopping the illegal Brazilian Mahogany Trade. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from stopping illegal logging
Hendershot, R. (n.d). Logging facts in the Amazon rainforest. Linket news. Retrieved November 02, 2007, from logging facts
Owen, J. (2005, October 20). Amazon logging twice as heavy as thought, Images show. National Geographic. Retrieved November 04, 2007 from heavy logging in the Amazon
Phillips, T. (2007, April 21). Invisible but too real: illegal roads speeding destruction of the rainforest: Despite a crackdown, illicit logging is on the rise on lawless areas of the Amazon. The Guardian International, p.25. Retrieved October 28, 2007. From LexisNexis.
The White House (n.d) . President's initiative against illegal logging. Earth day remarks (2003, April 22). Retrieved November 04, 2007, from George Bush and collin powell against illegal logging
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