GovernmentsThe Brazillian government committed to reduce deforestation by 80% in 2009 within the next decade. This allowed Brazil to show the most improvement in it’s deforestation rate compared to any country, cutting it’s deforestation rate in half between the years 2000 and 2012. The rate went from 40,000 square kilometers per year to just 20,000 square kilometers per year. A study was done by the University of Maryland that showed that 2.3 million square kilometers of forest was lost in the world as a whole between the years 2000 and 2012 due to logging, legal and illegal, fire, disease, or storms. However, 800,000 square kilometers of new forest was gained, making the net loss 1.5 million square kilometers, roughly the size of Mongolia.
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Loggers and FarmersLoggers and sawmill workers in the Amazon region become frustrated when deforestation laws are put in place, and one exclaims, “There is nothing for me here. Nothing.”. Due to limited work, and the need for trees in the logging business, Brazil has granted part of the Brazilian Amazon to be dedicated to the logging industries so loggers are able to cut down trees and keep their business going. The amount of forest that Brazil had made legal to be used for logging increased by six times in just one year. Throughout the next five years, Brazil plans to dedicate 27 million acres to logging. Farmers use "Slash and Burn" agriculture to clear room for farmers to allow their cattle to graze in addition to growing crops. The use of this land is important because the cattle farmers raise is sold in the World Market to produce profit.
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ConservationistsConservationists strongly oppose the idea of deforestation. As expressed by their title, conservationists greatly believe in preserving the forest, rather than destroying it. Conservationists believe that not enough is being done to put a stop to deforestation, as one states, "They're trying to pawn the issue off." Various conservationists reveal how they feel that if everybody put in a little bit of effort towards decreasing the amount of deforestation that occurs, then much of the forests would be replenished, and the damage could begin to reverse. Another leader of an organization which works to preserve forests states, "When it comes to the good of society, we all have to do our part." Conservationists feel passionately that deforestation is negatively affecting
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