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Saving What Remains
CATTLE and LAND SPECULATION
OVERVIEW
Clearing for pastureland and land speculation purposes is a major cause of tropical forest loss, especially in
Latin America. Cattle are an attractive investment for Amazonian farmers because they are a highly liquid capital
asset with low marginal costs once forest has been cleared. Cattle are used to establish land claims on otherwise
"unoccupied" rainforest land and can be used as a hedge against inflation.
Pastureland is usually cleared by the burning of secondary growth and land previously used for subsistence agriculture.
This burning is especially dangerous under dry conditions when fires can spread into neighboring old growth rainforest
and cause considerable damage.
ACTIONS
Addressing forest degradation and clearing for pastureland is difficult, but important due to the severe soil leaching
and erosion under traditional grazing systems. Rainforest clearing for cattle can be immediately reduced by eliminating
tax incentives and land policies which encourage such activities. Productivity can be increased on existing pastureland
by introducing agroforestry techniques. Through intercropping - the strategy of planting perennial trees on pastureland
- ranchers can diversify their income, while reducing soil erosion and maintaining higher soil quality. At the
same time these patches retain considerably higher levels of biological diversity than bare fields. Livestock also
benefits from the shade and adds fertilizer to the base of the trees as they take refuge from the sun.
Such a system should be tested on small holdings before being applied to large pastures. While some problems are
foreseeable with such a system - notably more management and fire control - it could be an important method for
conserving some biodiversity and forest function on pasturelands.
Animal Alternatives to Cattle
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