UNU STUDIES ON CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGIONS Am | Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and Its People‘The United Nations University is an organ of the United Nations established by the General Assembly in 1972 to be an international community of scholars engaged in research, advanced training, and the dissemination of knowledge related to the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare. Its activities focus mainly on peace and conflict resolution, development in a changing world, and science and technology in relation to human welfare. The University operates through a worldwide network of research and postgraduate training cen- tres, with its planning and coordinating headquarters in Tokyo. ‘The United Nations University Press, the publishing division of the UNU, publishes scholarly books and periodicals in the social sciences, humanities, and pure and applied natural sciences related to the University’s research Material com direitoAmazoniaUNU Studies on Critical Environmental Regions Edited by Jeanne X. Kasperson, Roger E, Kasperson, and B.L. Turner II Note from the editors This book is the third in a series from the United Nations University (UNU) research project, Critical Zones in Global Environmental Change, itself part of the UNU programme on the Human and Policy Dimensions of Global Change. Both endeavours explore the complex linkages between human activities and the envi- ronment. The project views the human causes of and responses to major changes in bio- geochemical systems - global environmental change broadly defined — as conse- quences of cumulative and synergistic actions (or inactions) of individuals, groups, and states, occurring in their local and regional settings. The study examines and compares nine regional cases in which large-scale, human-induced environmental changes portend to threaten the sustainability of an existing system. The aim is to define common lessons about regional trajectories and dynamics of change as well as the types of human actions that breed environmental criticality and endangerment, thereby contributing to global environmental change. The overall results of the comparative analysis are found in Regions at Risk, the initial volume in this series. The subtitle of Amazonia: Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and Its People hints at the main message of the book: environmental degradation and socio- economic obstacles to sustainability notwithstanding, many positive trends bode well for this diverse region. The authors arrive at this message from an in-depth analysis of five main categories of human driving forces — population, new technologies, socio-economic and institutional conditions, beliefs and attitudes, and income and wealth — that interact to alter the physical, social, and cultural environments of Amazonia. Taking a long view both backward and forward, they counter a popular Propensity to relegate the whole of Amazonia to history's roll of environmental dis- asters by documenting the capacity of stressed environments to withstand and even rebound from ecologically damaging trends. This long-term perspective revealed, well in advance of confirmatory satellite data, ‘that deforestation in Amazonia has been and is likely to be less widespread than conventional wisdom would have it. The authors, while wary of generalizing on trends and opportunities for so vast and heterogeneous a region, recommend devel- opment strategies that will increase the productivity of already deforested areas in order to accommodate population growth without endangering the long-term viability of nature-society relationships. Titles currently available: + Regions at Risk: Comparisons of Threatened Environments * In Place of the Forest: Environmental and Socio-economic Transformation in Bomeo and the Eastern Malay Peninsula Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and Its PeopleAmazonia: Resiliency and dynamism of the land and its people Nigel J. H. Smith, Emanuel Adilson S. Serrao, Paulo T. Alvim, and Italo C. Falesi ge United Nations Zs University Press TOKYO - NEW YORK - PARIS ia NNSL-A67-UI© The United Nations University, 1995 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations University. : United Nations University Press The United Nations University, 53-70, Jingumae 5-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150, Japan Tel: (03) 3499-2811 Fax: (03) 3406-7345 Telex: 525442 Cable: UNATUNIV TOKYO UNU Office in North America 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-1462, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 963-6387 Fax: (212) 371-9454 Telex: 422311 UN UI United Nations University Press is the publishing division of the United Nations University. ‘Typeset by Asco Trade Typesetting Limited, Hong Kong Printed by Permanent Typesetting and Printing Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Cover design by Joyce C. Weston UNUP-906 ISBN 92-808-0906-7 03000 PContents Pref. tk Acknowledgements __ xiii Amazonia under si 1 Major objectives and regional spt 3 The substance of Sustainability The question of criticality ‘The urgency of improved resource management 10 Environmental threats _12 The myth of virginity 12 Climatic change 15 The environmental impact of smoke 22 Soil erosion and floods 23 Hydroelectric dams 24 The environmental impacts of mining 30 ‘‘Penpeisians * 35 A lieeard ob cdenine 36 biodiversity 38 Forces of and societal es 47 Population change 48 Material com direitos autoraisTechnological change 52 Socio-economic and institutional change 55 Beliefs and attitudes towards development 59 Inceine aid Gaal 7 Societal responses 63 4 Forest conservation and management 70 Parks and preserves 70 7 Extractive reserves 77 The extraction of non-timber forest products bysettlers 88 Forest management for timber and charcoal 93 5 Silviculture and plantation crops 1. Silviculture for pulp 113 Rubber plantations 122 Duioax tas 6 Agro-forestry and perennial cropping systems 131 Diversity in space 132 Diversity in time 136 Agro-forestry integration with acquaculture and Lathese feireibicoontel’ 140 Innovation at Tomé-Agu 141 Revival in the Bragantina zone _143 The pioneer experience: Transamazon and Rondénia 149 The emergence of nurseries for perennial crops 154 Comparisons with the old World | tropics 156 Cash crops on the horizon _157 Constraints on further intensification _159 7 sci pstised Sot ppl ie uplands 161 7 Material com direitos autoraisContents Driving forces and the mythical hamburger ‘eonuarticn’ 160 Pasture development in the uplands 166 Pasture restoration 171 Savannas 183 8 _Land-use dynamics on the Amazon flood plain 184 An aquatic breadbasket 185 The collapse of jute and the emergence of ‘market gardening 188 Flood-plain orchards 191 Livestock in conflict with crops and Vulnerability 204 Fine-tuning the policy environment _204 Ateam approach 206 Conservation and sustainable development _ 208 211 1. Scientific names of plants (exclusive of -omamentals, medicinal plants, and vegetables) growing in 31 home gardens and agro-forestry systems in 121 polycultural the Brazilian Amazon, and their occurrence in second growth or forest 213 ; 2.__Ninety-seven agro-forestry configurations observed in 121 polycultural fields involving perennials in upland areas of the Brazilian Amazon, 1988-1992 217 3. Seventy-four it ies (exclusive of ornamentals, medicinal plants, and Material com direitos autoraisContents vegetables) found in 31 home gardens in upland areas of rural Paré, 1992221 4. Locations and composition of 31 home gardens (exclusive of ornamentals, medicinal plants, and vegetables) } sampled i in upland areas of rural Paré, 1992 223 5._ Sixty plant species observed in 97 agro- forestry configurations j 121 polycultural the Brazilian ‘Amazon, 1988-1992 227 Material com direitos autoraisPreface Development pressures are triggering rapid ecological, cultural, and economic changes in Amazonia, one of the world’s largest remaining forest frontiers. Some of the environmental effects of development schemes and spontaneous settlement have local and potentially re- gional and global repercussions. The ecological issues surrounding deforestation include soil erosion, adverse changes in soil struc- ture and fertility, shifts in rainfall patterns, and loss of biodiversity, particularly genetic resources. The driving forces behind land-use changes in Amazonia will be identified, the emerging awareness of economic, cultural, and ecological issues surrounding development will be discussed, and societal responses and management of natural resources will be analysed. A major focus of the study will be identi- fying resource management strategies for agriculture, particularly in agro-forestry systems, silviculture, and pastures. Such an approach should provide information useful for devising development plans for tropical forest ecosystems that are economically viable and environ- mentally sound. In the first chapter, “Amazonia under siege,” we explore some of the main themes threading through the book, particularly sustain- ability and one of its major components: resilience. Here we make the point that the ability of human-manipulated systems to rebound after major surprises is critical to the ultimate “success” of any land use. Criticality is defined and sorted into three main categories: envir- onmental criticality, environmental endangerment, and environmental impoverishment. These broad categories represent varying degrees of “seriousness” of human impacts on the environment. These cat-