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This article implies that the 28% increase in deforestation between 2012 and 2013 was due to illegal deforestation. The measured area is 1,272 km^2 (http://en.

by asciimo 12y ago

This article implies that the 28% increase in deforestation between 2012 and 2013 was due to illegal deforestation. The measured area is 1,272 km^2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_Brazil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_Brazil). The criminal damages amount to $220 million, making each square kilometer worth $172,955. I like to think in terms of acres, so dividing that number by 247 gives me the value of 1 acre of Brazilian rainforest in USD: $700.22. Surely my math is wrong?

nknighthb 12y ago
Disclosure: Your comment includes infinitely more information about the market value of Brazilian rainforest land than I had ever possessed before this moment. That said, there are apparently ~3.34 million km^2 of Brazilian rainforest as of 2013, according to that Wikipedia page. According to this other wikipedia page[0], the total land area of the United States, including Alaska, is about 9.6 million km^2. So, there's a metric shitload of Brazilian rainforest. It's not exactly in short supply, from a market standpoint. And most of it is, y'know, in the middle of nowhere. Add in that Brazil as a whole is of similar size to the US (8.5 million km^2), and is still a relatively poor country, and $700/acre does not strike me as a shocking number. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
- marcosdumay 12y ago
  Oh, ok, asciimo was wondering that it's cheap... I didn't understand this from his post. The wood alone is probably worth more than that, but I imagine there are some limits on how much wood a criminal group can sell before getting couch. The Amazon Forest grows over an extremely poor ground (that's mostly the reason it's still there); one can get some (not much) productivity from pastures on it, but more lucrative crops just won't grow unless one corrects the soil, what's a tremendously expensive process.

by asciimo 12y ago

nknighthb 12y ago

Disclosure: Your comment includes infinitely more information about the market value of Brazilian rainforest land than I had ever possessed before this moment. That said, there are apparently ~3.34 million km^2 of Brazilian rainforest as of 2013, according to that Wikipedia page. According to this other wikipedia page[0], the total land area of the United States, including Alaska, is about 9.6 million km^2. So, there's a metric shitload of Brazilian rainforest. It's not exactly in short supply, from a market standpoint. And most of it is, y'know, in the middle of nowhere. Add in that Brazil as a whole is of similar size to the US (8.5 million km^2), and is still a relatively poor country, and $700/acre does not strike me as a shocking number. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

marcosdumay 12y ago
Oh, ok, asciimo was wondering that it's cheap... I didn't understand this from his post. The wood alone is probably worth more than that, but I imagine there are some limits on how much wood a criminal group can sell before getting couch. The Amazon Forest grows over an extremely poor ground (that's mostly the reason it's still there); one can get some (not much) productivity from pastures on it, but more lucrative crops just won't grow unless one corrects the soil, what's a tremendously expensive process.