Paving the way to the future of Amazonia

The fate of the Brazilian Amazon is threatened by a new wave of frontier ex pansion following new infrastructure commitments worth US$40bn from the fed eral Government. In a recent paper, alarming rates of deforestation and for est degradation have been predicted, which could be either pessimistic or o ptimistic depending on the scale of forest disturbance being considered, A more decisive preventative approach is needed to prevent further impoverish ment of both the biota and rural population of Amazonia.