Ongoing Conservation Efforts

A lot of work has been done since 2005 that has really proved to be beneficial to maintaining and restoring the Amazon rainforest. In 2005, the international effort known as the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) was initiated (Boucher 2011). This program stated that if tropical countries were able to reduce deforestation rates, they would be compensated by wealthier countries for any economic loss that they would incur (Boucher 2011). Keep in mind that this effort does not solely aim to protect the Amazon Rainforest, although the Amazon is surely a top priority. Rather, it works to reduce as much tropical deforestation in the world as possible, including areas such as the Southeast Asian tropical forests and Congo River Basin tropical forests.

An image from the majestic and alluring Congo River Basin Tropical Forest (Gjerstad 2005) 

Norway was, and continues to be, one of the largest contributors to paying for this cause, so far pledging over $2.5 billion dollars for the effort alone (Boucher 2011). Brazil has also been a huge player by announcing a plan in 2006 to make the REDD+ commitment part of national law (Boucher 2011).Former Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and governors of various Amazon states played crucial roles in passing this legislation as well (Boucher 2011). In large part due to REDD+, levels of deforestation by 2010 in the Amazon rainforest had been reduced dramatically (Boucher 2011).

An Overview of REDD+ (Boucher 2011) 

 People indigenous to the Amazon also helped with reducing deforestation rates. Because they control about 20% of the land in the Amazon Rainforest, they are able to enforce logging laws, report illegal logging and impede encroachment onto forest lands by ranchers and farmers (Boucher 2011). Even with all the positive contributions to reducing deforestation, levels rose this past year by some 28% (Prada 2013).

Indigenous peoples in the Amazon (The Presurfer 2004) 

This is most likely due to many factors, for instance, a growing global demand for resources that come out of the Amazon rainforest and uncertainty by landowners over how much woodland to preserve (Prada 2013).

 The Brazilian government has also begun granting private corporations more land to cut down in hopes that this will limit the amount of damage done by illegal loggers (Pyne 2010). These grants are given under the conditions that logging corporations will do their best to report and stop illegal logging that they come across and also that corporations practice sustainable logging. On top of all that, we need to take into account all the efforts being placed in curbing global climate change which can not go unnoticed, such as automobile manufacturers working to reduce carbon emissions, and moves toward more sustainable energy practices (Phillips 2008).

Logging in the Amazon (Schwartz 2010)

It is safe to say that the conservation of the Amazon is not a simple task and that it includes many complex variables that need to be taken into account. It is too early to tell what the exact, primary cause of last years increase in deforestation was, but the fact is we must continue our efforts.  There is hope that these measures will aid in recovery of the Amazonian Rainforest ecosystem, but there is still much work to be done.