ANALYSIS
For our project we intended to run an analysis that created the area of overlap between protected Amazon Rainforest land, and the deforested areas, visible. We wanted to run this analysis to observe and present, how successful attempts towards projecting rainforest areas have been. This in turn, would show us how sustainable deforestation in the amazon is. Since we had two layers of deforested areas from different time periods, we would also have been able to compare how those overlaps have or have not changed, over the years. When we attempted to run this analysis, we discovered our layer of deforested land was not suited for running an analysis as it was a not a shapefile layer. Upon discovering this, we brainstormed other analyses’ to run, but without the use of these deforested area layers, it proved to be difficult.
This map shows the layers we intended to use for analysis. The layers included deforested areas from two different time periods, and a layer of protected areas.
This map shows an area where it’s possible to perform a visual analysis. One can easily observe the overlap between protected areas and deforested areas.
This map shows the layers we intended to use for analysis. The layers included deforested areas from two different time periods, and a layer of protected areas.
SOY BEAN CULTIVATED IN PROTECTED AREAS ANALYSIS
LEGEND
LAYERS INVOLVED:
Amazon Globil- Protected Areas
Amazon Globil- Soy Bean Cultivation
Finally we discovered our current analysis, which geographically charts the extent of Soy Bean Cultivation in the “Protected Areas” in the Amazon Rainforest. The reasoning behind this Analysis is that sustainability in the Amazon Rainforest can not be achieved as long as illegal deforestation is occurring. Our Analysis does provide some interesting insight into the issue of illegal deforestation. Soy Bean Cultivation is one of the most powerful industries in the Amazon Rainforest and is one of the leading causes of deforestation. By looking at our analysis it is clear to see that deforestation happens inside areas that are supposedly “protected”. In order to fix a problem, one must first understand it. Analysis’s such as this one underline the fact that existing sustainable legislation is often not properly enforced.
By observing the above ArcGis layers it is clear to see that Soy Bean cultivation does occur in “Protected areas”. However, the vast majority of protected areas are free of Soy Bean cultivation. This means that, as far as the Soy Bean industry is concerned, sustainability laws are largely being obeyed in the Amazon Rainforest. While this is good news in the fight against illegal deforestation (that is done for the purpose of Soy Bean cultivation), there are still sections of the Amazon where legislation has been passed to preserve the Rainforest, but where Soy Bean Cultivation remains a problem.
Annual Cattle/Soy Price Analysis
Cattle ranching is the leading cause of deforestation in The Amazon Rainforest. Large-scale, commercial agriculture of primarily soy bean is also an important contributor to deforestation. Once recognizing that these highly marketed commodities had such an impact on The Amazon we decided to look into the economic and commercial side of deforestation. We attempted to analyse patterns/trends between the prices of cattle and soy and compare it to the fluctuating rates of deforestation in the Amazon. We found data on rainforests.mongabay.com, beef2live.com and macrotrends.net on rate of deforestation, the annual prices of cattle and the annual prices of soybean from as far back as the 1950s. We then compared the changes of price to each year of increase in the rate of deforestation in the amazon.
The economics surrounding deforestation’s relation to both cattle and soy prices are beyond the scope of this project. We came up with a thesis to base our inquiry on: There is a direct relationship between both the prices of soy and cattle, and the rate of deforestation in the Amazon. Under this assumption we were then able to look for the required data.
After finding the data we needed we then took a closer look, first, at where the spikes in deforestation were. We found the highest number of square kilometres deforested in the years 1988, 1995, and 2004. We then looked at those corresponding years in the data tables of soy and cattle prices and checked if there was an increase in price in those same years.
When comparing the years of increased deforestation in The Amazon with annual cattle prices we saw slight comparisons between the deforestation increases and the cattle prices. In 1988 when deforestation rose to 21,050 square kilometres that year there was a $9.40 increase in cattle prices. In 1995 when deforestation rose to 29,059 square kilometres that year there was a $1.60 decrease in cattle prices. In 2004 when deforestation rose to 27,772 square kilometres that year there was a $7.80 increase in the price of cattle.
When comparing the years of increased deforestation in The Amazon with annual soy prices we noticed a consistent direct relationship between the two. In 1988 there was a $4.67 increase in soy price, in 1995 there was a $1.67 increase, and in 2004 there was a $4.71 increase.
From the data analysed we noticed a slight trend in cattle price increases parallel to increased deforestation, and a more obvious correlation with soy price increases.