DEFORESTATION IN THE AMAZON, FROM TWO SOURCES OF INFORMATION

[Reproduced from http://www.oeco.org.br/  and from Ibama: http://www.ibama.gov.br/]

IMAZON (Institute of Man and Environment in the Amazon)

Imazon: Mato Grosso state leads 'short clear cut' in April

Daniele Bragança20th  May  2013

IBAMA seizes illegal timber in Mato Grosso. Photo: Ascom Ibama/MT

In April, deforestation in the Amazon,  totaled an area of 140 square kilometers (km2), an increase of 84%in relation to April 2012 when deforestation totaled 76 square kilometers, according to figures released on Saturday (18) by Deforestation  Bulletin of Imazon, who make independent monitoring deforestation in the 'Legal Amazon'.

The monthly data show that deforestation continues rising in the Amazon: August 2012, when started the timing of deforestation, until April 2013, the deforested area totaled 1,570 square kilometers, an increase of 88% in relation to the previous period (August 2011 to April 2012) when deforestation totaled 836 square kilometers.
[Graph below shows deforestation from August 2012 to April 2013 in the 'Legal Amazonia']
['Legal Amazon' = The current area of legally-defined Amazon region corresponds to all of the States of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins and part of the states of Mato Grosso and Maranhão (west of the meridian of longitude 44), making up an area of approximately 5,217,423 km2 corresponding to about 61% of the Brazilian territory].

IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the  Environment

From their site: www.ibama.org.br

Brasília (07/05/2013) - Devastation in the Amazon continues to  present downward trend.  In April the Real-time Deforestation Detection system ('DETER') accounted for 147 km² of devastation alerts,  which represents a 37% decrease as compared to  the same month of the previous year. . Reduction was even  more expressive as 28 square km devastation were recorded, which means 53%  less than the 60 km2 recorded in the previous year.

CONCLUSION:  It is difficult for us Brazilians to get    reliable information   even if it is provided by the same source, DETER/INPE.
['INPE' = National Space Research Institute]

CONTEMPLATING THE INHABITANTS OF THE 'SKIES OF THE ATLANTIC FOREST'...

...  we highlight this majestic bird of prey: the white-necked hawk.

A 'gift', in the day of the Atlantic Forest: 27th May

[Reproduced from: www.oeco.org.br]

Rafael Ferreira

24th May,  2013

A  curious Amadonastur lacernulatus. Photo: Rick Elis Simpson/Wikimedia Commons Habitats of bird of prey, in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

In a country with so many biomes as the Brazil, it is not surprising that house so many animal species that are unique. In all its ecosystems there is an endemic species of the region, which could only arise in that environment. It happens in the Cerrado, in the Pampas, in the Amazon and in the Atlantic forest. That is the case of the white-necked hawk (Amadonastur lacernulatus).

The hawk-dove, as is also known, because in flight, it is easy to confuse it with a pigeon, is distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest, and can be found in the states of Alagoas, Paraíba, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Minas Gerais. 

The Amadonastur lacernulatus measures about 43 to 52 cm in length, with a wingspan of 96 cm (from one wing to the other). The dorsal and wings plumes are black.  While the head, neck, higher dorsal surface, and the whole bottom is white..

Lonely hunter sometimes admits to join other flocks of birds to capture food. Its diet consists of insects, spiders, molluscs, snakes, birds, rodents, and other small mammals. Cunning and opportunistic predator, it  has a habit of seeking and capturing animals amazed by the presence of army ants [= due to their aggressive predatory behaviour, groups of ants, known as "raids",  forage simultaneously over a certain area],  or by passing flocks of monkeys or coatis, acting as 'scouts'. There are also records of individuals who lurk or fly over areas, waiting for the moment when some other bird was captured by traps, then feed on it.

However, all the cunning does not save the kind of threats to its existence. Both the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), and the ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) classify  A. lacernulatus as vulnerable.

The population of white-necked hawk suffers a serious population decline because of deforestation, which deprives of the characteristics of its habitat. The impact on their territory reduces the locations suitable for nesting (reproduction) and increase competition for food and shelter. 

AMAZON: 'NO NEED TO MOVE INTO FOREST', WORDS FROM A CATTLEMAN

Yes! That's really quite simple!!!

[Reproduced from www.planetasustentavel.abril.com.br]

Rodrigo Baleia

In the environmental park of Paragominas, school children have environmental education. The place was an abandoned private property, reconstructed and vegetation was recovered.

PROSPERITY

Paragominas: the turning point

In the years of 1970 Paragominas, Pará state, northern Brazil, was under accelerated process of deforestation due to the construction of the highway Belém-Brasília. Today with 100 thousand inhabitants, Paragominas is taken as a model of sustainable development for other cities of the Amazon

Thiago Medaglia
National Geographic Brasil / Especial O futuro da Amazônia - 05/2011

In 1990, Paragominas was the main producer of Brazil wood pole to house 400 sawmills - today are less than 20. During the same period, was also the largest producer of cattle. Currently, the herd of 300 thousand heads - who suffered gradual reduction in recent years -  is not even among the top five in Pará state. And the changes go far beyond the pasture.

 The past - and their fame - stayed behind. A local project, created in 2008 and called the Town Green, served as a basis for a state program with the same name, coined in 2011 by the Government of Pará and initial adhesion of 74 municipalities. In addition to the partnership with NGOs, universities and research institutes, the main initiatives are reforestation project (in the last three years, the city planted 55 million trees), livestock and sustainable agriculture (they invested in soil fertility rather than proceed on deforestation), environmental education and forest management (action that minimizes the impact on the forest in withdrawal of logs with economic importance).

Environmental initiatives in the municipality of Pará state,  involve a series of public and private projects. The Hydro, which extracts bauxite mining within the area of the city, has a nursery of native seedlings for the reforestation of land already explored

In general, the logging and ranching are carried out for at least three decades in the municipalities of the region. Grain farming and ore extraction (in the local case, bauxite) are more recent. Thus, the city of Pará tried all the productive activities of the Amazon, explains Paulo Amaral, researcher at Imazon ['Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia' = Institute of Man and Environment of Amazon] . produtivas da Amazônia", explica Paulo Amaral, pesquisador do Imazon.

With 20 thousand square kilometers of area (almost the size of Sergipe state, northeastern Brazil), the town has large forest remnant: 66 per cent of its territory. Overflying Paragominas reveals all the sovereignty of treetops, 'studded' here and there by deforested areas. From the top, however, the superficial look fools anyone. This is not pristine forest, but a woods which had much of the trees removed, with commercial value, explains Fábio Niedermeier, a non-governmental organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

The President of the Union of Rural Producers, Mauro Lucio Costa propagates the investment in soil quality. 'You do not need to move into the fores't, ensures the cattleman

.

The partnership with TNC, in itself, shows the unusual profile of that city: in a region marked by agrarian conflicts and clashes between environmentalists and 'ruralists'. TNC now have a special room in the building of the Union.

.

This type of innovation is the result of changes driven by previous economic infeasibility of Paragominas. With the entry of the municipality in the 'champions list of deforestation in the Amazon', published in January 2008 by the Ministry of the Environment, the producers were prevented from accessing credit lines.

That same year, in March, a joint operation of the Federal Police, the IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment) and national public security force arrived in the city. Called Arc of Fire, the initiative has resulted, especially in closing illegal sawmills. The reaction of Adnan Demachki, still mayor, was to convene  businessmen and 50 local class  for signing a Pact for Zero Deforestation.

Later that year, in November, another operation, called the Black Trail, headed by the Military  Police and by IBAMA, ended 120 irregular coal ovens, in addition to seize trucks with logs from areas exploited illegally. The reaction of the people linked to these activities was violent, and, on November 24, the IBAMA office in Paragominas was torched.

The persistence in good practice brought results. Problems such as illegal removal of logs still exist, but in reduced scale. The partnership with Imazon, since 2008, provides the satellite monitoring of the territory.

The monthly reports are sent to Municipal Environment Secretary, which, with the geographic coordinates in hand, send officers to the exact locations, who will confirm whether or not there is deforestation. The other partnership, with the TNC, ensures the implementation of Rural Environmental Register ('CAR - Cadastro de Atividade Rural', in Portuguese) almost all city properties are included, a legal tool with information on the perimeter and a mapping of native vegetation and open areas of each farm

AMAZONIAN BIRDS: BRIEF NEWS ON A KNOWLEDGE STILL GOING ON...

[Reproduced from www.amazonas.org.br]

In the week we celebrate the international day of biodiversity, or specifically on May 22nd, a group of scientists announced the discovery of 15 new species of birds in the Brazilian Amazon. This means, statiscally one percent addition to biodiversity of birds of Brazil. For this reason, the novelty is being considered the greatest achievement of Brazilian ornithology in 140 years 

Eleven of the new species are endemic of Brazil and four can be found also in Peru and Bolivia. The presence of the birds always occurs near rivers such as the river Madeira, in Western Amazonia, and the river Tapajós, Pará, in the eastern portion.

This shows that the numerous watercourses that meander through the forest are an abundant source of biodiversity not only within, but also outside its waters.

Among the birds they discovered, the largest is a species of Crow, with about 35 cm long, that lives in the forest between the rivers Madeira and Purus, in Amazonas state. "This Crow is threatened with extinction," says Mario Cohn-Haft, curator of the Ornithology section of Inpa (National Institute of Amazon Research). "Their habitat is in danger and we can lose the species before we could have time to study it in depth." Its main area of occurrence is an area close to 'rodovia' [=highway]  BR-319, which connects Manaus (state of Amazonas) to Porto Velho (state of Rondônia), and one of the main causes of deforestation in the region. 

Altamira national forest, another region where one of the species was found, scientists needed including the support of armed protection. Habitat of one species of  'arapaçu-de-bico-torto',  black-billed scythebill (see photo below), the Flona ['Floresta Nacional' = National Forest, a category of reserves in Brazil]  located next to highway BR-163, in southern Pará, it is a region of land conflicts and of intense forest degradation. The tension in a place like this is great. There was an illegal mining operation in the unit. In order to be able to work safely in the reserve, we had to be escorted by soldiers of the army ", said Dr Aleixo (of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi).

New species of  'arapaçu-de-bico-torto'  black-billed scythebill, discovered in the National Forest of Altamira, Pará

"There is still much for the Amazon be considered sufficiently well known and thus allow the planning and sustainability of existing biodiversity reserves and also of the future," says the ornithologist Bret Whitney, a researcher at the Museum of Natural Science at the State University of Louisiania. The other institutions involved in the study: Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (MZ-USP), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (Inpa), Manaus, and Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, in Belém (MPEG).

RIO NEGRO, AMAZON: SOME INTERESTING FEATURES

Rio Negro, the "Black River" (translated literally into English) is not exactly "black", but it is similar in colour to "strong tea". It is the largest left tributary of the River Amazon. It is the third largest river in the world in water volume; it is the largest blackwater river in the world, and one of the world's ten largest rivers in average discharge.

Rio Negro (black water) and Rio Solimões (brownish water), after their confluence they form the Rio Amazonas. Manaus is the largest city in the Amazonian region, capital of the state of Amazonas

Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas (on top of the photo), is situated on the  left bank of Rio Negro, in the confluence of this river with Rio Solimões.  After their confluence, the river is called  Rio Amazonas

Rio Solimões (brownish water, rich in sediments) in the confluence with  Rio Negro (black colour)

"Encounter of the waters" of rivers Solimões (brownish colour) and Negro (black colour)

Rio Cuieiras, a tributary of Rio Negro

A navigable canal in the Rio Negro

The Rio Negro basin drains an area of 10% of the 7 millions square km of the Amazon basin. The region of Alto Rio Negro (high River Black) has the highest rainfall in the Amazon, reaching more than 3500 mm. Three main types of ecosystems exist in Rio Negro region:  high, wet and dense forest on clayey soils; the Amazonian caatinga ("campinarana", as it is called in Brazil); and periodically flooded forests situated on banks of black water rivers ("igapós"). Dense forests contribute to a high content of organic acids in the water of Rio Negro, which explains partly the dark colour of the water.
But, more recently, it was observed the presence of high contents of a bacterium, Chromobacterium violaceum which is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, non-sporing coccobacillus. It is part of the normal flora of water and soil of tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It produces a natural antibiotic called violacein, which may be useful for the treatment of colon and other cancers. This condition may explain, partly, the small number of fishes in the Rio Negro, as compared to richness of ictiofauna in the Rio Solimões. Some authors suggest that violacein would affect negatively, the proliferation of plancton. The basis of the food chain in the Rio Negro waters.

Brazilian scientists have sequenced the genome of this bacterium and made its deposit in the National Institute of Health of the United States.

MY FAVOURITE BIOME: THE ATLANTIC FOREST

Let's emphasize some peculiarities of this typical Brazilian biome.

This biome, also known as a broad-leaved evergreen forest, extends from the state of  Rio Grande do Norte, at the eastermost tip of South America, as far as Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil. It had a total area of 1 million square km (385,000 square miles), at the time of the discovery of Brazil (1500) but it is estimated today that there are only 5-7% of the original forest.

It is so rich in plant species and so dense as the Amazon rainforest, although trees appear to be a little lower. The soil, oxisol, is poor in nutrients from geological origin. It is from acid to very acid (pH below 4). However, the large accumulation of necromass (litter) on top 10cm of the soil, creates condition  for proliferation of living roots that trap organic matter from decomposition. Symbiosis of most tree roots with endomycorrhizal fungi are effective on absorption of nutrients before leaching occurs.

As pointed out by past investigations (C.F.Jordan and J.L.Monteith), though a tropical forest has a much greater biomass in wood and leaves than its temperate broad-leaved partner, its respiration losses and maintenance costs for leaves are also higher.This suggests that  there will not necessarily be a particularly high annual production of wood by tropical trees, in comparison with temperate forests.

But, the figure below shows how important it is to keep the tropical forest standing. The highest concentration of nutrients, better saying  all richness of the Atlantic Forest biome occurs in the wood and leaves, i.e. in living parts of the forest.

Access the link below and watch a sequence of slides on the characteristics of the Atlantic Forest.

http://db.tt/P4hR3lUg

SUGAR CANE PLANTATION WILL INVADE CERRADO AND AMAZON BIOMES: AS AUTHORIZED BY THE SENATE OF BRAZIL

Let's start by explaining briefly, about these two most important biomes of Brazil.

Cerrado.  Located between the Amazon, Atlantic Forest and Pantanal biomes, it is also known as a savannah-lile vegetation (the first photo below). Located in Brazil’s central high plains region (the second photo below), the Cerrado covers approximately 23% of Brazil’s surface area (2 millions square km).
The basins of the rivers Tocantins, São Francisco, and Paraná-Paraguay are fed by the Cerrado.
The Cerrado biodiversity, after the ones of the Atlantic Forest and Amazon, is the richest of the Brazilian biomes. It is home of 10 thousands species of plants, of which 45% are exclusive to this biome; more than 930 species of birds, and 300 species of mammals. It is estimated that Cerrado is home to a third of the animal species in Brazil and over 5% of all the species in the world

This biome is one of the most threatened and over-exploited regions in Brazil, second only to the Atlantic Forest in vegetation loss and deforestation, having now few areas of its original area (the third photo below). Unsustainable agricultural activities, particularly soybean and cattle ranching,  continue to pose a major threat to the Cerrado's biodiversity.

Amazon. This biome certainly does not need too much explaining because it is very well known in the whole world, due mainly to its critical role on the Earth climate (carbon dioxide fixation, water cycling, oxygenation, biodiversity...).

The total area of the Amazonian region, located on north of South America (the first photo), is estimated to be 7 millions square km, of which 5.5 millions square km (= 2.1 millions sq. mi.) are covered by rainforests, crossed by dozens of rivers (the second photo below shows a navigable canal in the river Negro). Among the nine nations with Amazonian forests, Brazil contains 60% of this biome.

The Amazon biodiversity richness makes of Brazil (and the other countries with this rainforest) a highly productive biome able to receive a rational sustainable development plan, with emphasis on tourism (see the other photos below). Estimates of animal species: more than 1300  fishes, more than 1000 birds, more than 300 mammals, nearly 240 reptiles, more than 160 amphibians; among arthropods: more than 1800 butterflies, nearly 3000 bees, circa 3000 ants... besides hundreds species of beetles and other insects...

Mahogany - Swietenia macrophylla,
has disappeared from the states
of Pará, Mato Grosso and
Rondônia

'Açaí'  (açaí palm)- Euterpe oleracea, energetic food, rich in fibres,
 minerals, and antocianin

'Tambaqui' (black pacu, giant pacu...), Colossoma macropomum, highly appreciated  in fish markets

Victoria amazonica (formerly, Victoria regia)

Sugar cane in the Cerrado and Amazon - and the Senate of Brazil. The chairman of the Environmental Committee of the Senate of Brazil is Mr Blairo Maggi. He is 'nothing more, nothing less' than one of the greatest soybean growers and agribusiness leader in the world!!! So, he certainly contributed for the approval, by his colleagues in the Senate, for the authorization that will allow the sprawling of sugar cane culivation in 'altered areas of the Cerrado and the Amazon', according to the modifications in the Brazilian Forest Code approved in 2012. The question is: 'which are precisely such areas'?

Let's listen to scientists who have been carrying out research on our environments. One of these researchers is Dr Gerd Sparovek, who was consulted by President Dilma Roussef during discussions on the new Brazilian Forest Code. 'The biggest obstacles to food production in Brazil are the enormous inequality in land distribution, agricultural credit constraint to the farmer who produces food for direct consumption, the lack of technical assistance that will help you encrease your productivity, lack of investment in infrastructure for storage and transportation of agricultural production, the financing restrictions and prioritization of development and technology that will enable a significant increase in the capacity of our pastures'

In conclusion. The statement of Dr.Gerd Sparovek refers to food production, to keep human beings alive! And food production is much more critical than sugar cane production... for moving cars!!!

"FAO" RECOMENDATION: TO FIGHT HUNGER IN THE WORLD... BY EATING INSECTS

The whole information at FAO's site: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/175922/icode/
after the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition in Rome (13-15 May)

Forest products critical to fight hunger - including insect

... One major and readily available source of nutritious and protein-rich food that comes from forests are insects, according to a new study FAO launched at the forests for food security and nutrition conference. It is estimated that insects form part of the traditional diets of at least 2 billion people. Insect gathering and farming can offer employment and cash income, for now mostly at the household level but also potentially in industrial operations.

I confess I feel rather worried that an international organism like FAO, which intends to solve the most serious calamity in the world: HUNGER, accept and recomend such procedure. Nearly 1 billion people in the world are starving.

I think that for most sensitive people in our planet it is quite difficult to accept that "powerful" nations waste billions and billions dollars every year with weapons and wars, and that everyone must find normal that "feeble" nations feed on insects for not starving to death!!!

Watch the figures below. On top, bamboo worms with green onion, in a market in Thailand. In the middle, a woman selling dry caterpillars in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And in the lower photo, an African  man eating Mopani, moth worms in tomato sauce.

JAGUARIBE: THE MAIN RIVER CROSSING MY HOME CITY

'Jaguaribe'  means 'where the jaguar drinks water' (jaguar in Brazil is better known as 'onça' = ounce).
This river has a historical importance for our region, and Brazil for Brazil as well. Through the Jaguaribe river Dutch soldiers invaded Paraíba state (1630 and following years until 1654 Dutches established in northeast Brazil).

Watch the video but in case you do not understand my 'Shakespearean'  English, please read the text below. You can instead, access the video by clicking in:
http://db.tt/XJl9uvaq

This short video shows a very common and frequent problem in the river Jaguaribe, which crosses João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba state, northeastern Brazil.

This tract of the river is just around 1 m under the road and its surface is completely covered by the 'common water hyacinth' (Eichhornia grassipes) ['aguapé' or  'baronesa', in Portuguese]; an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin. This plant is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range. The water hyacinth is creating conditions for bed aggradation, directly caused by deforestation on the river banks. So, the dredge spoil and the water hyacinth should had been removed before the rainy period, which has just started.

It is not difficult to predict flood, in case such removal is not performed.

Flooding happens every year during our rains of autumn and winter on the coast of northeastern Brazil.

BRAZIL'S HARVEST ESTIMATE HIGHER IN 2013

http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/indicadores/agropecuaria/lspa.

The site above shows Brazilian estimates of cereals harvest for 2013. Data from IBGE.

Estimate of April 2013 versus 2012 output

In 2012 however, the agroindustry fell 1.6 per cent (contractions in livestock - poultry, cattle, pig, hog - as well as in agriculture - orange and tobacco) [unfortunately the latter is still included as a commodity to be evaluated!!!].

'TINY SOLUTION' FOR A BIG PROBLEM: WATER WITHOUT DISEASES

[Reproduced from www.newscientist.com]

Silver nanoparticles provide clean water for $2 a year

• 10 May 2013

SOMETIMES the solution to an enormous problem is tiny. Silver nanoparticles may be the key to supplying clean, affordable drinking water worldwide.

Thalappil Pradeep at the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai and colleagues have developed a filter based on an aluminium composite, embedded with silver nanoparticles. As water flows through the filter, the nanoparticles are oxidised and release ions, which kill viruses and bacteria, and neutralise toxic chemicals such as lead and arsenic.

Some nanoparticles leach into the water but at concentrations that pose no threat to health. Pradeep describes the process of making the filter as "water positive": 1 litre of water spent on making nanoparticles gives 500 litres of clean water.

In tests, a 50-gram composite filtered 1500 litres of water without needing reactivation, so they estimate that a 120g-filter that costs just $2 would provide safe drinking water for a family of five for one year (PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1220222110).

The filters are undergoing field trials in India with the aim of preventing waterborne diseases.

Photos from Scientific American (see link below):

You can read more at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cheap-nanotech-filter-water&WT.mc_id=SA_Facebook

TWO VISIONS OF BRAZIL: 2012 AND 2050

 The vision of Brazil, as suggested by the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development  (CEBDS, in Portuguese: www.cebds.org.br)

Such vision, at least the one of 2012, may be useful to readers.  The one for 2050 is just speculation (I think).

http://db.tt/DtH046Wh

THE REGION WHERE I LIVE, IN BRAZIL

http://www.acaatinga.org.br/english/index.php/the-caatinga-biome/

The link above leads to the description of a  typical northeastern Brazilian biome. The unique biome entirely in the Brazilian territory, the caatinga ( indigenous designation meaning "white forest", a dry scrub forest, with predominance of a clear appearance during  dry periods, sometimes for two or more following years).
It is presently  suffering its worst dry period in 50 years, which started in 2011.

The cattle has not survived to extremely dry three years period.

Rainfall water stored for dry period

Sheep and goat raised free in the caatinga accelerate the desertification process.

The three photos above were taken at the caatingas of São João do Cariri, in Paraíba state, during the dry period of 2007. The Paraiban cariri has been studied as a region under desertification process.

MOTHER'S DAY

Remarkable animal moms.
The animal kingdom is flush with extraordinary parents.
These are words from www.worldwildelife.org. And the photo below as well.

And this one that follows, from www.tnc.org

HOAX - DO NOT EAT SHRIMP / PRAWN PLUS VITAMIN C OR YOU WILL BLEED

If you think this could be for real, you must access and read:

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/shrimp-vitamin-c-hoax.shtml

ISA-INFECTIOUS SALMON ANEMIA: TRUE OR FALSE?

[Reproduced from THE NEW YORK TIMES]

http://db.tt/xg6aDa4X