Kindly help me look at my reasearch paper essay. my teacher said he cannot see m

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Kindly help me look at my reasearch paper essay. my teacher said he cannot see my thesis and that it seems more a report than an essay. Kindly help me look at it and make corrections where needed thank you.

The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and its Indigenous People: The Effects of Fire on the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and its Indigenous People.

Ugochi Emerole

Wesleyan College

The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It covers approximately two million square miles in the Amazon River Basin of South America (Lyman 1998, 61). About two-thirds of the rainforest lie in Brazil. The forest also covers parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuala (Lyman 1998, 32). The Amazon rainforest harbor’s over a million plants and animals. It is also the home of indigenous human tribes. These human tribes live entirely off the forests, savannas and rivers by a mixture of hunting, gathering and fishing. Fire occurrences have threatened the existence of these indigenous human tribes and their resources like the monte dam. In addition to the indigenous people, the fires are also affecting the ecosystem. The fires are ruining the nutrients in the soil, thereby depriving trees of the much needed ingredients for growth. Brazil Rainforests are increasingly susceptible to forest fires today due to degradation from selective logging, fragmentation, and agricultural activities, Due to these fires, the trees and relevant food items existing in both the soil and the trees are burnt and washed away, causing erosion and loss of much needed food nutrients for the indigenous people living in the Brazil rainforest ecosystem.

In Butler’s article (2012), he points out the different kinds of fires that occur in the Amazon rainforest, causes of fires in the rainforest and its effect on the ecosystem. He says that there are low level fires and high level fires, although low level fire occurrences are unusual. Most rainforest fires usually begin in nearby agricultural fields where fire is used for land clearing and crop maintenance. These fires are originally meant for a good purpose, but due to the climate, the fires spread to the neighboring forests. Butler (2012) explains that under normal rainfall and humidity conditions, most fires are extinguished by the arrival of rainfall. However under dry conditions such as those of the El Nino years, fires spread from pastures. Consequently, these fires cause larger environmental issues. These burnings release thousands of tons of carbon into the atmosphere and these lead to hospitalization for smoke inhalation. These fires are significant sources of greenhouse gases. According to his research, from July 1987 to October of that same year, 19300 square miles of the Brazilian Amazon burned in the states of Para, Rondonia, Mato, Grosso and Acre is causing the emission of more than 500 million tons of carbon, 44 million tons of carbon dioxide, 44 million tons of carbon monoxide and millions of tons of other particles and nitrogen oxides. These gases affect the human respiratory system and can leave a lot of damage or worse even result in death. In addition, a recent study by Giller (2014) also agrees that climate is a major factor in the growth of the Amazon Rainforest. He explains that the forests are usually moist so they prevent fires from spreading, but due to the incidence of severe drought, the fires have grown more intense, killing trees. In addition, Flora et al (2012) discusses how nutrients are lost in the rainforest. Most nutrients are in the trees in the rainforest, but when fires occur, trees are cut down and all the nutrients stored up are removed as well. It causes the nutrients to be washed away in a steep slope and this destroys the water system for the indigenous people who depend on the water system to live. The soil eventually dies and this ruins the ecosystem.

However these fires do not affect just the soil, they also pose a threat to the lives of the indigenous Brazilians who live in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. There are about 240 indigenous human tribes living in Brazil, comprising of about 900000 people. The government has recognized 690 territories for its indigenous population, covering 13% of Brazil’s land mass. Nearly 98.5% of this land lies in the Amazon. Most children of indigenous people do not go to school, they are taught how to survive in the forest. These people survive on natural resources derived from the Amazon Rainforest. Most tribes live entirely off the forests, savannas and rivers by mixture of hunting, gathering and fishing. The indigenous people are very sustainable people. They care and help to sustain the rainforest, but with the occurring fires, it is getting hard and their lives are being endangered. The fires in the rainforest are causing a decline in nutrients used to grow crops and due to erosion, the water has become unfit for drinking. In the Amazon there is a dam called, “monte dam”. It is a dam which was constructed on the Xingu River, a river the indigenous people use for drinking, bathing, fishing and transport. The construction of the dam has impacted the quality of the river’s water and ruined both water and food security for the indigenous people. This has led to a large reduction of biodiverse fish species which provide nutrients for indigenous people and help with growth. Ever since its construction in 2011, there have been criminal activities as well as health, education and sanitation threatening activities.

Moreover, another problem is the issue with miners and loggers. Logging is the act of cutting, processing and loading trees onto a truck. Logging can be advantageous when one is trying to get firewood to make a fire, but it can also be destructive when large trees are cut down and dragged through the forest. Cutting down trees in the Amazon only means cutting down all necessary nutrients needed to stabilize the soil for future growths. Logging of trees causes animals to leave the forest because they cannot survive in the environment. This therefore decreases diversity in the forest. Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth. Butler (2012) explains that mining in the rainforest affects the animals and indigenous people who live in the rainforest. He states that mining exposes the environment to mercury and this enters the system of animals and humans. Also mining exposes sulfides to atmospheric oxygen, causing their conversion to strong sulfuric acid and metal oxides, which run off into local waterways, polluting the waterways, making animals and humans sick and can even cause death. Butler states, “While deforestation and chemical pollution from mining can impact the rainforest environment, downstream aquatic habitats fare worse. Increased sediment loads and reduced water flows can seriously affect local fish populations”. Butler (2012).

The indigenous people possess an enormous body of almost irreplaceable information and skills about living in the rainforest without destroying it. For this reason, basic steps are being taken to help preserve the Amazon Rainforest and reduce the frequent burnings. First, there has to be measures undertaken to reduce the impact of deforestation and climate change. Deforestation should not occur frequently because it decreases nutrients and makes the forest prone to fires. Also, The nascent REDD program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) should be crafted with an eye towards protecting vulnerable species, expanding protected areas, creating corridors between forests, and mitigating the expansion of agriculture in rainforests. In addition, government should drop policies that support the destruction of rainforests. Secondly, greenhouse emissions should be cut quickly because they are affecting the respiratory system of the indigenous people and ruining the ecosystem.

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is a very beautiful place with an amazing scenery, large population of indigenous people and unimaginable resources built into it by nature for the sustainability of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem, but due to forest fires, it is falling apart. However, by the implementation of the various palliative measures noted in this paper and with the help of the Brazilian government, non-governmental agencies and the society around the amazon rain forest, this amazing rainforest will be restored to it’s original glory to ensure that the indigenous population and the numerous plants and animal species living in this ecosystem do not become extinct due to incessant fires.

References

W. (n.d.). Amazon Watch - Brazil's Belo Monte Dam. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from

http://amazonwatch.org/work/belo-monte-dam

Barbara Zimmerman, for National Geographic PUBLISHED December 23, 2013. (n.d.). Rain

Forest Warriors: How Indigenous Tribes Protect the Amazon. Retrieved February 25,

2016 from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131222-amazon-

kayapo-indigenous-tribes-deforestation-environment-climate-rain-forest/

Brazilian Indians. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from

http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/brazilian

Butler, R. (2012, May 20). Rainforest fires. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0809.htm

Butler, R. (n.d.). Forests in Brazil. Retrieved February 25, 2016, from

http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20brazil.htm

Flora Da Silva Ramos Vieira Martins, Xaud, H. A., Santos, J. R., & Galvão, L. S. (2012). Effects

of fire on above-ground forest biomass in the northern Brazilian Amazon. J. Trop.

Ecol. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 28(06), 591-601.

Giller, G. (2014, May 19). Human-Lit Fires Can Pose Threat to Amazon Rainforest.

Retrieved February 9, 2016, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-lit-

fires-can-pose-threat-to-amazon-rainforest/

Ichoku, C. (n.d.). From Forest to Field: How Fire is Transforming the Amazon : Feature Articles.

Retrieved February 26, 2016, from

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/AmazonFire/

Indigenous People of the Amazon Rainforest - Culture & Life. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25,

2016, from http://www.adventure-life.com/amazon/articles/indigenous-people

Main, B. D. (2013). 'Hidden' Fires Burning in Amazon Rain Forest. Retrieved February 9, 2016,

from http://www.livescience.com/37320-hidden-wildfires-destroy-amazon.html

Global Warming: Brazil Acts Now to Protect the Amazon Forest from Droughts, Storms and

Fire. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2016, from

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/02/15/Brazil-fights-global-warming-

Amazon

Explanation / Answer

The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and its Indigenous People: The Effects of Fire on the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and its Indigenous People.

The Amazon Rainforest or Amazonia is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It covers approximately two million square miles in the Amazon River Basin of South America (Lyman 1998, 61). About two-thirds of the rainforest lie in Brazil and it covers more than half of Brazil. The forest also covers parts of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuala (Lyman 1998, 32). The Amazon rainforest harbor’s over a million plants and animals. The canopy of Amazonia may contain half of the world's species. More than 500 mammals, 175 lizards and over 300 other reptiles species, and one third of the world's birds live in Amazonia.

Amazonia is also the home of indigenous human tribes. Indigenous groups such as the Yanomamo and Kayapo have been living in the Amazon for many years, they slowly accumulating a thorough knowledge of the rainforest and methods to survive from it. Amazon people have developed lifestyles that are well integrated with the benefits and constraints of rainforests.These human tribes live entirely off the forests, savannas and rivers by a mixture of hunting, gathering and fishing. Studies suggest that around 12 percent of the Amazon's terra firme forests are anthropogenic in nature which is the result of careful management of biodiversity by indigenous people. They saw the importance of maintaining biodiversity through a variety of natural forests, open fields, and sections of forest managed so that it is to be dominated by species of special interest to humans. Most of these peoples existed along the whitewater rivers where they had excellent transportation facilities, good fishing, and fertile floodplain soils for agriculture. Fire occurrences have threatened the existence of these indigenous human tribes and their resources like the monte dam.

In addition to the indigenous people, the fires are also affecting the ecosystem. The fires are ruining the nutrients in the soil, thereby depriving trees of the much needed ingredients for growth. Brazil Rainforests are increasingly susceptible to forest fires today due to degradation from selective logging, fragmentation, and agricultural activities, Due to these fires, the trees and relevant food items existing in both the soil and the trees are burnt and washed away, causing erosion and loss of much needed food nutrients for the indigenous people living in the Brazil rainforest ecosystem.

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is a very beautiful place with amazing scenery, large population of indigenous people and unimaginable resources built into it by nature for the sustainability of the Amazon rainforest ecosystem, but due to forest fires, it is falling apart. However, by the implementation of the various soothing measures noted in this paper and with the help of the Brazilian government, non-governmental agencies and the society around the amazon rain forest, this amazing rainforest will be restored to it’s original glory to ensure that the indigenous population and the numerous plants and animal species living in this ecosystem do not become wiped out due to incessant fires.