At least 8% of the Brazilian Amazonian rainforests have been destroyed. Forest destructon has a great effect on the water cycle of large areas and reduces species diversity. Cattle ranching has been the most important cause of deforestation. Large-scale governmental infrastructure investments such as hydroelectric, mining, and also forestry projects are Increasingly responsible for forest conversion. Improvement of the infrastructure and unequal land tenure regimes in traditional farming areas lead to an increased Influx of farmers to Amazonia. Traditional sustainable harvest faces destructive Industrialism. Moderate agroforestry and extractive use of non-timber-products may permit sustainable forest utilizaton. In the long term, sustainable harvest Is considered more profitable than cattle ranching or logging. Low raw-material prices, missing data on ecologic and economical impacts of intensified extractivism, as well as high population increase, however, do not allow unbiased suggestions for sustainable forest utilization in Amazonia.
