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The Amazon: A Puzzle Between Development and Sustainability?

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  • Duran-Fernandez, Roberto
  • de Carvalho Coutinho, Taciana

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the Amazon, a vital ecological treasure in Latin America. It covers the region's environmental significance as the planet's largest rainforest and a major carbon sink, housing immense biodiversity. The study also traces the Amazon's geological history and its crucial role in the global water cycle. It explores the rich cultural heritage of the Amazon, debunking the myth of an untouched wilderness by revealing evidence of significant ancient civilizations and agricultural origins. The economic analysis highlights the contrast between the region's natural richness and the poverty of its inhabitants, focusing on the challenges posed by extractive industries, geographical isolation, and environmental threats like deforestation. The paper proposes a sustainable bioeconomy model, emphasizing indigenous knowledge and the need for strategic investments and institutional strengthening. It concludes by stressing the importance of a balanced approach to conserving the Amazon while ensuring economic viability for its inhabitants, underlining the region's global significance for environmental health and climate change mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Duran-Fernandez, Roberto & de Carvalho Coutinho, Taciana, 2024. "The Amazon: A Puzzle Between Development and Sustainability?," EconStor Preprints 281668, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:esprep:281668
    as

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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/281668/3/240126%20Amazon%20Review.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mariana Mazzucato & Caetano C.R. Penna, 2016. "Beyond market failures: the market creating and shaping roles of state investment banks," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 305-326, October.
    2. Patricio Goldstein & Timothy Freeman & Alejandro Rueda-Sanz & Shreyas Gadgin Matha & Sarah Bui & Nidhi Rao & Timothy Cheston & Sebastian Bustos, 2023. "The Connectivity Trap: Stuck Between the Forest and Shared Prosperity in the Colombian Amazon," CID Working Papers 147a, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    3. Heiko Prümers & Carla Jaimes Betancourt & José Iriarte & Mark Robinson & Martin Schaich, 2022. "Lidar reveals pre-Hispanic low-density urbanism in the Bolivian Amazon," Nature, Nature, vol. 606(7913), pages 325-328, June.
    4. Mariana Mazzucato & Caetano C.R. Penna, 2016. "Beyond market failures: the market creating and shaping roles of state investment banks," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 305-326, October.
    5. Hàng, Người Bán, 2023. "Đầu 2023, Amazon Đức cho MT đạt BSR khả quan," OSF Preprints 4dvqt, Center for Open Science.
    6. Jonas Gregorio Souza & Denise Pahl Schaan & Mark Robinson & Antonia Damasceno Barbosa & Luiz E. O. C. Aragão & Ben Hur Marimon Jr. & Beatriz Schwantes Marimon & Izaias Brasil Silva & Salman Saeed Khan, 2018. "Pre-Columbian earth-builders settled along the entire southern rim of the Amazon," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Luciano Prates & Gustavo G Politis & S Ivan Perez, 2020. "Rapid radiation of humans in South America after the last glacial maximum: A radiocarbon-based study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, July.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Amazon Rainforest; Environmental; Conservation; Sustainable Development; Bioeconomy; Amazonia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q01 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - General - - - Sustainable Development
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • N56 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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