STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014
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Soybean cultivation took off in the 1990s, and has since then grown
rapidly, becoming one of the main threats to the forests in the
southern Amazon region. From 1994 to 2008, soybean production in
Brazil increased by approximately 135%.
17
During the deforestation
peak from 2000 to 2005, it was estimated that one-fourth of the
deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon was caused by the expansion
of soybean cultivation.
18
Most of the global soy crop is processed
into animal feed, for which there has been a rising demand in
Europe and Asia, especially China.
Large soy monocultures threaten biodiversity, destroy soil fertility,
pollute fresh water and displace local communities. Even more
important is the indirect impact of soy production on rainforests. Soy
expansion has driven up land prices and encouraged infrastructure
projects that entail forest clearing, and a comprehensive study from
2011 indicates that soy expansion in existing cattle pastures displaces
ranchers into frontier forest areas, triggering new deforestation.
19
The
moratorium on soybean expansion into the rainforest, introduced
in Brazil in 2006, significantly reduced the sector’s direct role in
deforestation.
20
However, the moratorium is under considerable
pressure from the Brazilian agribusiness industry, and has only been
renewed for one year at a time, last through January 2015.
The soy industry has developed certification schemes to try to deal
with social and environmental concerns related to soy production;
the two most widely known are ProTerra and Round Table on
Responsible Soy (RTRS). However, both of these are fairly new and
have had limited impactso far.
The cattle industry became the symbol of the large-scale destruction
of the Amazonian rainforest in the 1990s. Driven largely by growth
in production of beef, for both domestic and international markets,
the cattle herd stocks in the Amazon region tripled from 1990 to
2008.
21
Brazil has become one of the world’s largest beef exporters,
and today the cattle industry is responsible for between 61 and 75%
of the rainforest destruction in the Brazilian Amazon.
22
It is estimated
that production must increase by 70% by 2050 to meet the demand
for beef from the global population.
23
Cattle ranching is an attractive option; it demands little investment
and often gives high returns. In Brazil, forest land and labour are
cheap, particularly in the north, and maintenance costs are low. It
is a low-risk investment compared to cash crops, which are more
vulnerable to pests and price fluctuations. Clearing forests and
placing cattle on the land is also a way to gain title to the land
in Brazil. There have been no incentives for ranchers to intensify
production; approximately one cow per hectare has demanded
large areas and entailed huge environmental costs. The Brazil case
also makes evident how various drivers may interact, when the
lucrative soy production expands into areas previously used for
cattle, pushing ranchers to clear forest for new pastures.
Soy
Cattle
