World Geography Spring Semester Exam Grace Chung Partner: Quy Vu

Destruction of rainforest in Latin America The destruction of rainforests has been rapidly spreading throughout Latin America. The rainforests in Latin America provide many resources that can be processed to benefit their economy. Many of the resources are being overused and deforestation has become a major issue regionally and globally. In Latin America, there are groups who are for the destruction of the rainforests and those who are against it. Farmer, government officials, and loggers are groups of people that are for the destruction of the rainforests. They all need the rainforest’s resources and land for economic benefits. Farms need the land for their livestock, government officials want their economy to grow, and loggers need the trees to produce lumber to export. Environmentalists, Native people, and Rubber tapers are groups of people in Latin America that are against the deforestation. Environmentalists want to preserve the environment, the Native people want to maintain living in their homes, and rubber tapers have no intentions on harming the rainforest. There are pros and cons in conserving the Rainforest. Regionally, preserving the rainforest benefits the natives but damages Latin America’s economy by cutting off their resources for trade. Globally, preserving the rainforest would maintain the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and provide important resources for future discoveries and studies. From the standpoint of a Brazilian politician, the politician would be for the destruction of Brazil’s rainforests. A solution that the politician would go by would be limiting the destruction of the rainforests but having a enough amount of resources to export to foreign countries. This would preserve the rainforests slightly without significantly damaging Brazil’s economy. From a politician from the United State’s point of view, the politician would probably be against the destruction of rainforests. In order to solve the crisis in Latin America, the politician would go for the debt for nature swap. The politician would gather up funds to send to Latin America to help their economy in return for the preservation of the rainforest. The issues involving the destruction of Latin America’s rainforest are unsettled and deforestation continues to spread at a rapid rate. In order to stop the destruction of the rainforest, the conflicting conflicts need to come to a mutual agreement to save the rainforest in order to help the region of Latin America and the world.

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Quy Vu’s critique The solution was strong because it benefits every groups and it is probably the only real solution they have that can solve the problem. The only thing I see that could be a problem with this solution is that each group only wants what’s best for them that they might not want to come to an agreement that can benefit all. I think that the first step to this solution is to get the groups to meet one another at a conference so that they can discuss their different ideas and what they want. Another solution that I have if they do not come to an agreement is to build reserves for the native people and have them slowly come live on the reserves so that they are used to it before making them permanently live there. Preserve certain parts of the rainforest so that rubber tappers and environmentalist can make a living and research. Parts of the rainforest can be cut down to build infrastructures, businesses, and homes for people. Other parts of the rainforest can be cut down for loggers to make a living. This is the other solution that I can think up that can benefit all groups.