My research question will be “What are the effects of illegal logging, mining, and farming on the indigenous tribes in the Amazon and how can public policy help to address these consequences?”.

This question interests me because it talks about transgressions that are threatening the lives of indigenous communities living in the Amazon. This question will help me explore the current effects of these illegal activities on indigenous tribes living in the Amazon as well as any future repercussions they may suffer if these illegal activities were to continue. Apart from the environmental effects caused, I also plan on writing about the ‘war for survival’ by indigenous tribes against invading loggers, miners, and farmers as another effect. This question will also help me address public policies that help protect indigenous tribes and their lands and those that lack effort in fighting to solve this problem and in enforcing them.

By the end of next week, I should have all of my scholarly sources. I need to do more research on ways the governments can improve on protecting indigenous tribes, their lands, and those who protect the rainforest.

The intended audience for my essay is people who don’t understand the impact logging, mining, and farming has on indigenous communities and/or those who don’t believe these illegal activities affect them. I want to change their perspective and inform my audience on the severe consequences these actions have on native tribes who live in the Amazon. I’ve chosen this model essay called “Effects of Deforestations” by Pachamama Alliance (https://www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation) to model my essay after because I want to structure my essay in a way that my audience won’t have a problem following. I will begin with explaining the causes of illegal logging, mining, and farming, as well as the effects it has on the Amazon which, in turn, affect indigenous communities who depend on the rainforest to survive. I will then follow with writing about the ‘war for survival’ which indigenous warriors have found themselves being forced to fight against invaders (illegal loggers, miners, and farmers) in order to defend their lands. I then plan on finishing off with different plans of action governments can implement to help make a change and solve this issue.

Bibliography

Clifford, Krauss. “In the Amazon, Fires Steal Breath, but Smoke Smells of Money.” The New York Times, 2 Nov. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/world/americas/brazil-amazon-fires-cowboys.html

Darlington, Shasta. “Illegal Mining, ‘Worse Than at Any Other Time,’ Threatens Amazon, Study Finds.” The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/world/americas/amazon-illegal-mining.html.

Londoño, Ernesto, and Letícia Casado. “Amazon Deforestation in Brazil Rose Sharply on Bolsonaro’s Watch.” The New York Times, 18 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/world/americas/brazil-amazon-deforestation.html.

Muñoz Acebes, César, et al. “Rainforest Mafias.” Human Rights Watch, 27 May 2020, www.hrw.org/report/2019/09/17/rainforest-mafias/how-violence-and-impunity-fuel-deforestation-brazils-amazon.

Phillips, Dom. “Goldmining having big impact on indigenous Amazon communities.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 07 Oct. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/07/goldmining-having-big-impact-on-indigenous-amazon-communities.

“Why I illegally cut down trees in the Amazon rainforest | Interview with a Brazilian illegal logger.” YouTube, uploaded by The Telegraph, 2 Dec. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zITRFwiBE38&t=187s.