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In Pictures: Saving the Amazon

How one Texan rancher is fighting to save the Amazon rainforest.

Agriculture in Brazil is booming, with soy production set to surpass that of the US to become the largest in the world.
By Sylvia Rowley
Published On 28 Oct 2013

Cuiaba, Brazil – Agriculture in Brazil is booming, with beef exports alone generating almost $6bn a year, and soy production set to surpass that of the US to become the largest in the world.

This is especially true in Mato Grosso, the state at the heart of the forest’s southeastern “arc of deforestation”. Here, 136,000 square kilometres of forest have been cleared in the past 25 years – more than anywhere else in Brazil.

After moving to Mato Grosso in 1996 and witnessing what he likens to an “environmental holocaust” wrought by bulldozers, chainsaws and fire, Texan rancher John Carter came to believe there was only one way to slow the destruction: working with landowners.

 

 

This is taking a great toll on the Amazon rainforest, which is home to more than 40,000 plant species, 427 mammals, 1,294 birds and 378 reptiles.
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earthrise reporter Russell Beard flies two-and-a-half hours by light aircraft from the Brazilian city of Goiania to reach the remote frontier.
On the Amazon(***)s southeastern frontier, an area of forest the size of Greece has been cleared in the state of Mato Grosso alone. 
After moving to Mato Grosso in 1996 and witnessing years of environmental destruction, Texan John Carter set up a conservation group with a difference.
Operating in lawless frontier territory, Alianca da Terra has now recruited over 500 ranchers and farmers who are keen to supply a growing market in sustainable sourced goods, and have signed up to curb their impact on the forest. 
Alianca da Terra carries out environmental and social audits of farms and agree mandatory improvement plans with farmers, focusing on areas such as riverside forest cover, erosion and fire prevention. 
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More than 100 indigenous people have been trained to fight fire, including members of the Xavante tribe.
The fire crew also provide backup for others who are trying to protect the environment, such as a local state park manager who has received death threats from poachers.
Thanks to the training and assistance of Alianca da Terra’s fire brigade, landowners are nearly 40 percent less likely to experience fire on their land after joining up.