Benefits of Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon are Temporary

The clear cutting of rainforests may yield a quick payoff for local villagers in the Brazilian Amazon, but in the end typically leaves the community just as poor as before, according a study in the journal Science. The study said that deforestation to clear land for cattle ranching or agriculture often provides a short-term jolt to the local economy as new resources lure investment dollars and development, including new roads. But once the timber disappears, the loggers move on, and the soil is depleted, the quality of life soon falls back below the national average, researchers concluded after an analysis of life expectancy, income, and education data from 286 Brazilian communities. “We found that the level of development in a region that has been through deforestation is indistinguishable from in a region prior to deforestation,” said Robert Ewers of Imperial College London. Much of the land cleared for agriculture was quickly abandoned, Ewers said.