The Amazon Basin and Land-Cover Change: A Future in the Balance?

Abstract

The Amazon Basin contains a multitude of ecosystems, biological and ethnic diversity and the largest extent of tropical forest on Earth,over 5 x 10 6 km 2,and accounts for an estimated 1/3 ofthe planet's animal and plant species. Currently only asmall numberof species are used byman. The region is abundant in water resources.Annual rainfall is 2.3 mover the Amazon Basin, and the mean outflow of the Amazon River into the Atlantic is over 200000 m 3-1 which corresponds to 18% of the total flow of fresh water into the world's oceans. The region stores over 100 Gt of carbon in vegetation and soils. However, over the past 30 years,rapid development has led to the deforestation of over 550000 km 2 in Brazil alone. Current rates of annual deforestation are in the range of 15000 km 2 to 20000 km (INPE 2001 ),and the spatial pattemofdeforestationin Brazilian Amazonia up to 1997 is illustrated in Fig. 26.1. Pages: 137-141