geography paper 1 - reasons for deforestation

commercial farming

cleared to make space for cattle grazing or huge plantations

cattle ranching is the main cause of deforestation in the amazon

subsistence farming

forest is cleared by small-scale farmers who need land to grow food for themselves and their families

many indigenous people are subsistence farmers

commercial logging

valuable hardwood like mahogany are in the amazon and can be sold for lots of money

mineral extraction

gold, iron and copper are mined and exported

road building

the 4000km trans-amazonian highway connects the brazilian coast to peru, columbia and ecuador

new roads built for logging have opened up areas that were previously too hard to get to, destroying and threatening more of the forest

energy development

building hydroelectric dams flood large areas of forest