Thursday, December 12, 2019

Environmental Management Amazon Freshwater Ecosystems

Question: Discuss about the Environmental Management for Amazon Freshwater Ecosystems. Answer: Introduction Brazils 61 percent of land area is being covered by the Amazon region. The percentage is equals to 5.3 million square kilometers (Fao.org 2016). The place is home for around 20 million people and support 20% of the worlds animal and plant species (Fao.org 2016). The forests contribute to the economy of the country largely. However, the contribution of the forest in foreign trade of Brazil is just 3 to 4 percent, yet 8.6 percent of the Brazilian export is depends on the rain forest (Fao.org 2016). The employment rate of Brazil depends on the Amazon to a great deal as it provides 6.5 million jobs to the individuals of Brazil (Fao.org 2016). The south and the south-eastern part of brazil has been able to grow contribution as well as far as the agriculture is concerned mainly due to the technology available, the favorable climatic conditions and the infrastructure available to the farmers (Fao.org 2016). Recently, the tropical forest of Amazon is facing certain threats from the humankind . The threats from the humankind are eventually affecting the nature as well as the animal and people who are dependent on the forests (Waking Times 2015). The threats are in the form of: Construction of roads and the hydro-electric dams The individual cattle ranching and agriculture Mining works that includes bauxite, which is the main component of aluminum and gold Cutting of the trees for the purpose of retrieving wood from the trees Extraction of oil Farming at a small scale and other natural changes like the change in the climate The forest of Amazon used to capture 17 percent of the carbon and that helped in the regulating the temperature of the forest (Sky Rainforest Rescue 2016). However, due to the threats, it is now storing one third less of what it used to store before. As a result, the one billion tone of carbon are now being freely circulated in the air. One of the studies has predicted that by 2025, 40 percent of the forest will be destroyed mainly because of danger created by and the natural danger (Sky Rainforest Rescue 2016). The research will mainly look into the danger and threats that Amazon is currently facing due the human beings and the nature. It will further evaluate the problems faced by the plants and the animal species. The research will be helpful in understanding the perspectives of the people who are living in the Amazon region as well as the people who are living in the human regions. Project description Objectives of the research The overall objective of the research is to save the Amazon forest from being destroyed due to the advent of the human beings and its effects on the nature. The specific objectives of the research are: To reduce the deforestation of the Amazon region that is mainly used by the farmers or by illegal poachers To track the mafia who indulge in illegal timber business To enhance the eco-system by saving the endangered animal and plants species To reduce the effect of global warming, this is the biggest threat for the future Influence of the action in improving the situation of the target groups The actions to improve the situation of the target groups and final beneficiaries The target groups for the project are the plants and animal species of the eco-system. Due the global warming and the deforestation, the animal species in the eco-system are losing their home (Jantz, Goetz and Laporte 2014). The Amazon forest in Brazil is of the most famous tropical forest, which provides home to 20% of the species in the world (Fao.org 2016). Education is the best way to handle the people and help the target groups that is the animal species to live a better life (Nepstad et al. 2014). In addition to this, the negative target groups that are the timber mafia and the poachers can be handled only by educating the people living in the region. Activities and the work packages that could be implemented The actions that should be implemented to retain the sustainability of the eco-system of the Amazon region are: Stopping deforestation the Amazon forest, this will help in sustaining the eco-system of the region. The people who are living in the Amazon region should be taught about the negative effects of deforestation in their lives The farmers need to be aware of the problems of deforestation will not cause problem for the species in the eco-system; it will affect their business as well (Junk 2013). The ill effects of deforestation will have their influence in soil, which will become infertile. Once the soil in come infertile, it will in turn slow down the business of the farmers (Jantz, Goetz and Laporte 2014). The social media can come to help to save the eco-system of the Amazon region and for the betterment of the life of the people who are living in the regions (Couceiro et al. 2012). The animals and the plants are the most affected species in the Amazon region. The social media campaigning should include then dangers faced by the species and the steps taken by the individuals that could help save the animals and the plants (Rudel and Horowitz 2013). It is expected that 75 percent of the people who are using social media will come forwards to help in saving one of the most famous tropical forest the world and the rest of the population will come to know through the word of mouth (Castello et al. 2013). Once the farmers will gain knowledge about the ill effects of deforestation and will come to know that the Amazon forest will help the farmers in retaining their livelihood, then the modern techniques and tools can be introduced that will help in the enhancement of the farming (Nepstad et al. 2014). The farmers should try to introduce more eco-friendly products and tools that will help in enhancement of agriculture (Rudel and Horowitz 2013). The forest is also suffering from the illegal clutch of the poachers. The poachers are the main reason of the loss of the animals and plants from the forest and hence they should be banished from the regions (Jantz, Goetz and Laporte 2014). Once the people living in the Amazon region come to know about the threats from the poachers, chances are high that they will be successful in making the poachers leave the place (Jantz, Goetz and Laporte 2014). Expected results and the impact on the project Once the people will come to know about the danger that Amazon region is facing, there is a chance that they will become aware of the illegal activities as well as the farmers will gear up to save the place and the region (Couceiro et al. 2012). The farmer will come to know about the advanced techniques that will ultimately help them in enhancing their business and gain more profit (Junk 2013). They will use more advanced tool and agricultural techniques that will help in enhancing the eco-system of the region. The project will help the readers to become aware of the problems faced by the people in the Amazon regains and they will come forward to help the animals in the region. The project will not only help the people living in Amazon, but it will also help the world know about to know about the ill effects of deforestation and its effect on the Amazon region (Couceiro et al. 2012). Eventually, it will help in the enhancement of the climactic conditions all around the world and help the people in the world, to live a better life (Nepstad et al. 2014). The problems of global warming are beginning to affect not only the Amazon region but also the entire world. At times, those people are not even aware of the problems (Rudel and Horowitz 2013). This project will make them are of the problems and they will take precautions to make the place a better place to live in. Influence of the project on gender mainstreaming Once the forest department will aim at enhancing the eco-system of the Amazon region, the project needs to hire a number of people in different positions. People will be required for farming purpose. The project will require people who will help in saving the place from the illegal poachers and timber mafia (Castello et al. 2013). A strong security force is required to save the place. Other positions that will be open will in the administration department and people who have strong knowledge in animal rearing and plantations. There will be people who will be required for training the farmer with the new technologies and the agricultural tools. Amazon region will also require weather experts who will be able to tell about the climate changes in the place. The project will not indulge any kind of gender discriminations and will hire male and female employees in equal number (Krook and True 2012). Thus, it will be a good portrayal for the society and the people residing in urban regions will support the initiative when they will see the authorities are not discriminating based on gender (Razavi 2012). Influence of the project on special needs of the people with disabilities The people with disabilities will also be benefitted due to the projects because of the need of people in special posts. It has been already discussed the people that the project will require. The positions that will not require physical strength can hire people with the technical knowledge (Harpur 2012). It will also help in garnering the interests among the people who will come to know about the problems in the Amazon region through the social media (Harpur 2012). Methodology To implement the activities in the Amazon region to save the endangered species from extinctions, there is a need to implement the quantitative and qualitative research work. The quantitative and the qualitative research methods will help in understanding the perspectives of the individuals and will be helpful in understanding the problems in the Amazon region. The quantitative research will be in the form of surveys (Yin 2013). The survey will be carried out in the social media; the survey will mainly take into account the younger generations who will be speaking about their perspectives on the Amazon. The survey will help in understanding the degree of awareness among the people who are living in the society. On the contrary, the qualitative research will involve the interviews of the managers of different NGOs and different organizations that are involved in maintaining the forest regions (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2013). The government officials who work in the forest department will also act as the source of information regarding the problems faced by the people. The head of the agricultural department will be also being asked about the ways the farmers work in Amazon. The quantitative research will also be helpful in understanding the perspectives of the farmers who are working in the regions (Green and Thorogood 2013). The techniques that they use while farming in the Amazon and the tools that they use for the farming process will help in understanding the current statues of Amazon. For the proper implementation of the activities, it is necessary to take the feedback of the farmers the people living in the Amazon region, the organizations that are looking after the forest (Yin 2013). In addition to this, it is necessary to check the sustainability of the animal and plant species present in the area. Result chain leading to the expected outcome Figure: the basic component of result chain (Source: Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2013) There are four components of the result chain Strategy Outcome (objective) Outcome (direct threat- objective) Impact on target (goal) The strategy that has been applied in the present project is to make the people aware of the current situation of Amazon forests. The people includes the people are staying in urban areas, the farmers who are staying at the Amazon region (Mertens 2014). The strategies that are being applied to make the people aware of the situation are through social media and general awareness among the farmers (Green and Thorogood 2013). The social media would be helpful in getting touch with the urban civilizations. As far as the farmers are concerned, they need to be told by meeting face-to-face (Schmidt and Hunter 2014). The main objective behind the strategy is to save the Amazon forests from destructions. The expected outcome from the strategies is that the people will come to know about the threats and they will take measures to protect the place. The direct threat that has been developed in the present case is the threat from the poachers and the illegal hunting of the animals that take plac e in the forests (Corbin and Strauss 2014). Some of the animals are already extinct and some are in the verge of extinctions. Hence, it is important that the people should know about the illegal works that go in the forests so that such activities could be stopped with immediate effect (Krueger and Casey 2014). In addition to this, the farmers are not aware of the latest technologies that will help in carrying out the agricultural works in a more eco-friendly manner. In such a situation, the region is at a threat even if the farmers carry out the work properly (Jantz, Goetz and Laporte 2014). The strategic implementation of the plans set for the betterment of the Amazon forests will help in the achieving the target of protecting the forests. Thus, the result chain shows the expected outcome to be a better place for the animal and the birds in the Amazon region (Krook and True 2012). It is expected that the facts that will be collected from then surveys that have been carried out in the social media and the campaign to save the Amazon will also help in gaining the attentions of the people. In addition to this, the education from the farmers working in the region will help in the better implementation of the agricultural technologies in the Amazon region (Jantz, Goetz and Laporte 2014). It is expected that the farmers will learn the new technologies and will come together to make Amazon a place free of any illegal activities (Krook and True 2012). Coordination of the project with other programs Several other organizations and online associations have the siomeilr prpheam of mprteting the Amazon regions. Out of the projects, some plan to protect the animal species, some aim to protect the plantations, while some projects aims at protecting the aboriginal settlements in the Amazon. The nature conservancy is one such association that aims at protecting the natural habitations of the world (Nature.org 2016). The mission of nature conservancy is to protect the land and water as the life of the human beings depends on that (Nature.org 2016). The nature conservancy aims at protecting the animals and pants species, sustainable farming and indigenous communities in Amazon (Nature.org 2016). Another organization is the Greenpeace International, which aims at protecting one of the indigenous communities, the Munduruku residing at the Amazon forest (Heartoftheamazon.org 2016). As the Munduruku clan is gradually decreasing, hence they have asked the government to protect the race (Heartoftheamazon.org 2016). The Greenpeace international mainly look after the aboriginal communities and tries to protect them from extinction (Heartoftheamazon.org 2016). It is important for organizations around the world to support the rain forest and help save the animal residing at the place. In addition to this, the place needs to be protected from the timber mafia so that the valuable plantations are not harmed anymore due to the human intervention. Project Options and Alternatives: Identification of the project options so that the target group situation is improved: The Amazon forest is the home of the largest variety of plant and animal species. Some of the rare species of animal and plants are found in these forests and it is the duty of the people to protect them. Since Amazon, forest is the home of tropical forest the cutting down of the trees need to be reduced. The logging companies they are cutting down the endangered forests so that it can be used for making paper and furnisher (Lee 2012). The pressure in these forests will reduce when people are concerned about using the products that has higher percentage of the recycling content. Alternative like the one the tree free paper needs to be used which is made up of hemps, kenaf, waste straw where trees are not cut for the purpose of production of paper (Gupta-Bhowon 2012). There is a need for incorporating wood efficient techniques and avoid the old growth wood products. Investments in the rainforest communities need to be increased. For example, RANs Protect an Acre Program has been creat ed so the rainforests are protected and this will help in supporting the communities of the rainforest. The program helps in ignoring the facts that there are people who depend on the forest and have lived in the forest sustainably for centuries (Gond and Moon 2012). These types of programmes will help the forest people to get some legal recognition with respect to the territories, develop economic initiative developed locally and resist the practices like that fossil fuel and logging development. The Rain Forest Action Network needs to be supported, as this will be an effective way to reduce the import of the cheap beef by many of the restaurant farms. Social Media is another viable option for communicating on the protecting of the rainforest and the animal species. Consideration of the options to tackle the problem: There are some of the best options recognised for tackling the problem of the depleting rain forest. The rain forest expands over a huge area, looking at the entire region is quite difficult, and this would incur huge cost. The supporters of the rain forests need to devise some good project plan so that it has a sound affect on the entire Amazon rainforest. Social Media is the most convenient option where in the message on securing rainforest is travelled across all parts of the world and they would be demanding less of the products on learning about the environmental consequences. The cost incurred through the campaigning through the social media is low and it expands to a large area. Social Media costs would be around 2000-3000 US dollars. The local farmers they need to be educated that rain forest plants, species are rare, and dying out of their stock might result in misbalance in the environmental concept (Sobala 2014). They need to be given scientific lessons about the environme nt and give them some practical examples so that they are able to reflect on it. Education about the environment need some focus by the government, as the private sector would not be indulged to invest on educating and training the farmers. Training the farmers would require learning tools, teacher and writing resources, which are provided by the government of Brazil at the subsidised rate so that all are able to afford (Egelston 2013). The project of training and education would be amounting to 1 to 2 billion rupees due to its geographical inconvenience and expanded area. Programmes supporting the Rainforest rejuvenation are also quite an expensive project as this helps the people to stay in peace with the Amazon forest with no harm provided to the forests (Idowu 2012). Alternative approach to improve the situation: The companies they are constantly intruding the rainforests of Amazon for the resources that are not available in other forests. The rain forest is the storehouse of essential medicines and other purposes. This is the reason for it being attracted by some of the leading firms around the world. Apart from the intervention by the government for protection the rainforests, there is a need for the corporate to include CSR strategy so that they are able to govern the environment along with the company aims and the objectives (Coombs and Holladay 2012). This type of strategy will have a positive impact in the society. With the social objective in mind , the business in mind they are able to act ethically by taking into consideration of the environmental and the social impact of their business. This would help the organization to mitigate the detrimental impact of the business on the community. There is going to be a change in the value chain so that there is more benefit for the community. The employees they have the opportunity to get involved in the social activities and the strategies learnt will be passed on to the other staffs in the workplace (Roorda 2012). With activities that is outside the normal course work , the employees they would be passionate about learning the newer perspective. The CSR activities will help in the organization growth and helps in the supporting of the employees (Prado-Lorenzo and Garci a Sa nchez 2013). The company to harness the maximum amount of benefit they are working with the local communities of the Amazon Basin so that they learn the indigenous way to extracting resources and taking into consideration the environmental needs. The rate at which the corporate extract, there is a needs to slow down. Project design reflecting the present operations and the international practices: The project has been design in such a way so that is adheres to the international practices. The project caters to one of the renowned international organization that is the World Wide Fund for Nature. WWF, nongovernmental organization has its base in the United States but works all around the world. The organization is supported by 5 million supporters and is working in almost 100 countries with thousands of project (Raven, Berg and Hassenzahl 2012). The Amazon forest projects are also controlled by their representative as this help in the keeping the global ecosystem stable. Conclusion The main objective of the research is to save the famous Amazon region from the timber mafia and stop deforestation and give the animal a better place to live in. it can be concluded that the interventions of the human beings will be able to stop the negative intervention of the human beings. The timber mafia and the poacher are the main reasons that Amazon is suffering from serious threats. However, the people of the society can stop the illegal activities in the Amazon region. The project to save the amazing regions involves the education of the farmers regarding the threats to the Amazon rain forests. The forests are the place of living as well as earning for the farmers. The campaign in the social media will help the people staying in the cities to know about the problems and they can come forward to help the people of the region. The expected outcome from the result chain shows that the proper implementation of the strategies that involves the education of the farmer and the peo ple in the urban areas will help them to achieve the final goal of saving the Amazon rain forest. Other than this particular project, the similar programs by the Nature Conservancy and the Greenpeace International have also taken steps to save the Amazon region. They have taken measures to save the animals and the plants, sustainable farming and save the aboriginal communities to make the Amazon forest a better place to live in. other than this project, there are chances of other alternative projects, which can be carried out by any private organization. By indulging in the corporate social responsibility, any private organization can come forward to save the rain forest. Then private organizations can join hands with the NGOs and help in implementing other projects that will help in saving the animals of the Amazon region. The organizations can offer monetary support to introduce special security forces that will prevent the mafia and poachers to enter the place and indulge in ille gal activities. Hence, it can be said that the project needs the support from people from different areas to save the nature and the endangered species of the nature. Proper steps and full proof approaches will help in successful implementation of the project. 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