• IDENTIFICATION
• LEGAL CLUSTERS
• GEOGRAPHIC CLUSTERS
• TRADE CLUSTERS
• ENVIRONMENT CLUSTERS
• OTHER FACTORS

I. Identification

1. The Issue

Ecotourism is rapidly gaining in popularity within Brazil's growing service sector. Some advocates of ecotourism have proposed that ecotourism is a viable trade alternative to trading in primary commodities such as timber. Primary commodity extraction of timber by transnational corporations (TNCs) is emerging as an increasing threat to the existence of the Amazon Rainforest. As world prices for commodities decrease, Brazil needs to make the transition to a more lucrative export and at the same time an environmentally friendly industry. Deforestation not only degrades the environment causing mass biodiversity loss, but it also causes a cultural identity loss for indigenous groups that live there such as the Yanomami tribe. The service sector could provide the answer to Brazil's development problems. Ecotourism is sustainable economically, socially,and environmentally.

2. Description

The Yanomami

The Yanomami are one of many ancient tribal groups living in the Amazon. The Yanomami are one of the last neolithic-age tribal groups on the earth being a semi-agrarian hunter-gatherer people. They have developed almost without any contact from outside cultures.

The Yanomami rely highly on the forest for their needs using the various plants in the Amazon for much of their medicine and food. Yanomami culture is communal based but follow a nomadic lifestyle, usually living in one area for about 3 years. As resources such as fish, land and animals become depleted the Yanomami migrate to other areas.¹ However, these resources are not depleted beyond regeneration. In practicing sustainable agriculture and foraging, the Yanomami leave an area long enough so that resources can replenish themselves according to the earth's natural regeneration processes.

Before 1970 the regions where the Yanomami lived were completely untouched. However, after Brazil initiated a rapid development program in the early 1970s, these areas were invaded by landless poor migrants in search of food and corporations in search of economic opportunity.² As a result of this encroachment upon the Amazon frontier, vast areas of the rainforest have been deforested and continue to be deforested at a rapid pace. These groups are leaving a wake of destruction that imperils the existence of the Yanomami people. Ecotourism provides a sustainable development alternative to the deforestation that is destroying the Amazon. Ecotourism also provides a way for the Yanomami to participate in the modern economy and society.

Ecotourism and International Trade Agreements

International trade in the services is regulated by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), where the operation of the GATS is supervised by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The General Agreement on Trade in Services advocates a policy of trade liberalization for participating nations such as Brazil. The GATS follows certain principles in regulating the trade in services. Discrimination in regard to trade and investment between members of the GATS is prohibited. If the service sector of a particular nation is open to foreign investment, WTO members have the right to equal access in investing in that market. If a country's service sector is open to foreign trade competition, foreign corporate profits cannot be restricted from being transferred from the operating country to the country of origin of that corporation. Another principle covers the issue of equal treatment between national and foreign interests. Once a commitment is made by an investment attracting nation that its service sector will be open to foreign access, then foreign and domestic interests must be treated equally in that country that is attracting the investment. These GATS provisions are legally enforceable.

The GATS system is based on a progression toward trade liberalization. The GATS recognizes that environmental protection measures implemented by national governments may conflict with the provisions of the GATS. However, the GATS does not have a specific provision that protects the environment in regard to trade.

Ecotourism has become a growing industry in many developing countries. The development of grassroots ecotourism is important for the indigenous tribes that live in the Amazon and is beneficial for Brazil's developing service sector. Grassroots ecotourism supports local control and operation of ecotour outfits. Grassroots ecotourism requires that foreign interest trade and investment be regulated.

The movement toward local participation in and control of the Amazon has struggled against the liberal economic aspirations of the Brazilian government and the international logging business community. Recently, a region of the Amazon inhabited by the Yanomami tribe has been threatened with an approval for opening the area up to logging companies. It was determined that the Yanomami had an "excess protectionism from the state."³ The decision was fueled by the drive toward free trade and trade liberalization policies. Opening up the Amazon to logging operations serves as a catalyst for Brazil to open its economy to foreign investment and to be become more competitive for a larger share of the export world market. What this means for the Yanomami is that they will have to fight even harder to survive. Local standards are designed to protect the local people from an invasion upon their economy, culture, and environment. The GATS needs to revise its trade liberalization policies so that they do not ignite conflict between social, environmental, and trade needs.

Local ownership and operation of the ecotour industry are viable alternatives to that of having the ecotour sector controlled by foreign owned interests. Ecotourism is not a capital intensive industry. Most of the capital required for ecotourism is provided free by the Amazon Rainforest. Domestic investment in most cases may be sufficient in meeting the needs of the industry. Foreign investment could be directed toward developing transportation systems and construction of the ecotour site. However, international investment would be most effective in providing low interest loans and in developing microcredit programs for potential local ecotour entrepreneurs.

Local ecotour operation ensures that profits are reinvested into the development of the Brazilian economy and environment. Ecotour outfits that are internationally owned export more than half of their profits to their home countries.⁴ Ecotour profits should go toward the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest, and toward programs dedicated to improving the health and education of the Amazon people.

The Ariau Jungle Lodge

The Ariau Jungle Lodge is a local ecotour operation about 35 miles up the Negro River from Manaus in the Amazonas state of Brazil. The Ariau Tower Jungle Lodge is owned and operated by Brazilian national – Dr. Francisco Ritta Bernardo. Many of the rainforest tour guides that are employed at the Ariau come from the surrounding local villages.

ARIAU JUNGLE LODGE WALKWAY
The ecolodge was built in regard to its surrounding environment. Not a single tree has been cleared to make way for the lodge's structures. The cabins were built up and in between the trees interconnected by raised walkways among the treetops. All of the lower level structures stand on stilts raised above the flood line. The accommodations are basic and very much a part of the environment.

Ariau is only accessible by boat or by foot. There are no roads that access the lodge. During the flood season between March and September the entire journey to the Ariau is taken by canoe or by small boat. During the dry months visitors travel by boat for part of the, journey but then must hike through the jungle to the lodge.

There are plenty of animals to see and interact with at the lodge site. Monkeys swing freely above and macaws and toucans greet visitors in the morning. While strolling along the raised walkways visitors can see all types of fish in the water below and lizards that frequently cross the walkway path. During the evening visitors can hear the sounds of the jungle while spotting alligators in the shallow waters of the river.

Ecotours are limited to groups of 6 or 7 people. The Ariau offers a wide range of activities. After dinner there are jungle walks or visits to indigenous villages for stories of the forest and music by the locals. Some villages allow visitors to watch and participate in ancient rituals. During the day there is piranha fishing (which is later served with dinner!), jungle hiking, canoe excursions to the flooded forest, visits with a local family, and visits to the local villages.

3. Related Cases

4. Draft Author (and Date):

II. Legal Cluster

5. Discourse and Status:

Grassroots ecotourism as a viable alternative to deforestation conflicts with the trade liberalization principles of the GATS. Deforestation corporations, mostly transnational corporations are in disagreement with the Yanomami and other Amazon indigenous groups in regard to deforestation.

6. Forum and Scope:

7. Decision Breadth:

8. Legal Standing:

III. Geographic Cluster

9. Geographic Locations

10. Sub-National Factors:

11. Type of Habitat:

Tropical rains are frequent and short in the Amazon, which gives some relief from the heat and humidity. Humidity is high and temperatures range about 86 degrees F to 92 degrees F. The land is lush and between March and September, the flood season, the Amazon is almost completely covered with water.

IV. Trade Cluster

12. Type of Measure:

Grassroots ecotourism is based on the control and limitation of foreign trade and investment, in the ecotour trade. These measures are essential in fostering and protecting local control of the ecotour industry.

The Integrated National Policy for the Legal Amazon approved in 1995 strives to balance socioeconomic growth with natural resource conservation of the Amazon. The Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, Water Resources and Legal Amazon (MMA) has initiated a program (Diretrizes para uma Politica Nacional de Ecotourismo) to promote ecotourism as a sustainable development alternative. In promoting ecotourism, certain areas of the Amazon will be protected and indigenous concerns regarded. In addition, indigenous group participation in ecotour operations will be promoted. The major indigenous groups that are participating in this program include the Yanomami, Xavante, Guarani, Kayapo and Nhambiquara.⁵ The program is not yet developed to make a substantial impact, but does recognize an urgency in establishing sustainable development alternatives that promote the local economy of the Amazon while protecting its people and the environment.

13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts:

Ecotourism has direct impacts in regard to trade in services.

14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact

15. Trade Product Identification:

16. Economic Data

Currently ecotourism is a $335 billion annual business.
The services industry, including ecotourism, consisted of 53.9% of Brazil's GDP in 1998 and is steadily growing.
Demand for wood-based products is expected to increase from 1.7 billion cubic meters per year to 3.0 billion cubic meters per year worldwide.

17. Impact of Trade Restriction:

Ecotourism as a trade in service inherently protects the environment. Environmental regulations benefit ecotourism and would not hinder the trade.

18. Industry Sector:

19. Exporters and Importers:

Exporter: Brazil with ecotourism through service sector of international trade.
Importer: Many nations, but the United States is the primary investor in Brazil's service sector.

V. Environment Cluster

20. Environmental Problem Type:

DEFORESTATION

The Amazon is the largest tropical forest on the planet covering almost 60% of Brazil. ⁶ The Amazon has the world's largest river and most diverse ecosystem. Each year 65,637 square miles or an area of rainforest approximately the size of Wisconsin is deforested for trade in commodities.⁷ Brazil has 11,583 square miles of rainforest or 35% of the Amazon that has already been deforested. From 1991 to 1994 deforestation in Brazil has increased by 34%. From 1997 to 1998 deforestation has increased by 28%.⁸

The major contributing factors to tropical forest loss are various and complex. Brazil's population is steadily increasing. In 1965 there were 2 million people living in the Amazon. Today there are 17 million.⁹ The rise in population is causing an increase in deforestation to clear land for agricultural purposes and to obtain wood for fuel.

Clearing land for subsistence farming is occurring at an alarming rate. Farmers use a process to clear land called slash and burn farming. The land is completely burned to clear it and produce a mineral-rich ash to aid in crop growth. The burned soils are often poor causing the cleared land to support growth for only a few years.¹⁰ The landless farmer then moves to a new area and starts the process over. Slash and burn farming is not conducted in a sustainable manner in regard to soil regeneration. As increasing populations clear the frontier forest of the Amazon, the soil is repeatedly used for agriculture allowing no fallow period. The cleared land does not have enough time to regenerate itself between plantings.

Growing populations in industrial countries are also affecting deforestation as demand for raw materials is increasing in these countries. Brazil has traditionally deforested its forest but now TNC activity is on the rise in the pursuit to meet the demand for wood. Foreign investment in Brazil's natural resource poll provides Brazil with an opportunity to generate revenue to service its enormous foreign debt. Deforestation by transnational corporations (TNCs) is emerging as a new threat to the existence of the Amazon. Brazil currently has various timber TNCs operating in the Amazon. The largest TNCs are owned by the United States, Malaysia, Japan and Germany.

Deforestation destroys fragile ecosystems and the soil's capacity to hold nutrients and water. Deforestation is also destroying the Yanomami people. As one elder of the Yanomami wisely and sadly stated, "with the animals, the crabs, the fish, the palm trees, together with the forest, we will die."¹¹ As deforestation continues, it leaves a wide path of irreversible destruction in its wake.

21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species

Biodiversity Loss

The Amazon has the largest natural gene bank in the world. The Amazon Rainforest is host to more than 2 million species and 112 ecosystems. One third of the world's 30 million species of insects live in the Amazon. Thirty thousand vegetal plant species have already been identified in the Amazon out of a possible existence of 30 million vegetal plant species. Fifteen hundred micro-organisms and fungi have been found in the space of 1 human footprint!¹²

FLOODED FOREST OF THE AMAZON
The cultivation of wild plants dates back to a period known as the Neolithic Revolution about 12,000 years ago.¹³ Today many plants have been helpful in researching for a cure for AIDS and cancer.¹⁴ Quinine, also gathered from the Amazon, has been used to treat local people for malaria for almost 100 years. Vincristine and uimblastine leaves of the jaborandi plant are used to treat glaucoma. The vincristine and uimblastine leaves are unique to the Amazon.¹⁵ It is estimated that 1 hectare of rainforest is worth between $726 and $3,327 if used for herbal medicines. In comparison, 1 hectare of rainforest, if cleared for agriculture, is only worth $288.¹⁶

Fauna diversity of the Amazon includes a wide range of animals such as monkeys, jaguars, and tapirs. There are also many different species of birds and fish. The Amazon River is home to the largest fresh water fish in the world, the piraiba. The piraiba is so large that it can swallow children. At the Ariau towers this diverse life was quite evident. Pink dolphin, tapirs, alligators, toucans, macaws and piranha can easily be observed by visitors. The Amazon Rain Forest is one of the last truly wild place left in the world.

22. Resource Impact and Effect:

23. Urgency and Lifetime:

Medium and ? years.

Deforestation threatens biodiversity of plant and animal species. Deforestation causes a loss in biodiversity, thus affecting the ecological processes of the region. At present science and technology cannot determine the full impacts and implications of current biodiversity loss.

24. Substitutes:

VI. Other Factors

Yes. Cultural diversity is eroding in the Amazon Rainforest because of the depletion of resources needed for survival. In addition, the adaptation of cultural traits of modern Western society is rapidly replacing the traditional culture of the Amazon people.¹⁷ The indigenous Amazon tribal people depend on the forest for medicine, fuel, food, construction materials, and other essential needs. Many native tribes including the Yanomami, utilize approximately 600 different plant species for their needs.¹⁸ Biodiversity is important in the preservation of the cultural diversity of the Amazon.

Ecotourism is viewed by many indigenous groups as the most rational and lucrative alternative in protecting the rainforest, creating jobs, and generating revenue for local needs such as education and community health. These groups also see ecotourism as a way of maintaining their cultural integrity.¹⁹

Native Amazon groups that promote ecotourism fear cultural intrusion and a disappearance of their cultural identity. Unwanted Western consumer ideals and practices have been increasingly encroaching upon isolated Amazon indigenous communities. For example, upon the growth and spread of Western medicine is rapidly taking the place of the ancient practice of shamanism.²⁰ Shamanism is an effective practice of using plants of the forest for medicine in treating various ailments. Presently, there are about 53 groups of indians in the Amazon that have had no contact with modern civilization.²¹

In protecting themselves from cultural homogenization, tribes that do operate ecotours have implemented protective measures. Some indigenous ecotour operators, such as the Huaorani tribe, have placed limits upon the number of days tourists can stay in the Amazon and limits on how many times per month tourists can visit the site.

The Cofan indigenous people of the Amazon protect their way of life by operating an ecotour business in the struggle to keep out large corporations seeking to exploit the Amazon's oil resources. The entire community has contributed either time or a skill in building the ecotour site. The salaries for these various jobs are calculated at twice the rate one would earn working for an oil company, which is the main alternative source of income in the region where the Cofan reside. A craft store was set up to earn extra money to financially support the ecotour project. In protecting their environment, the Cofan have separated ecotour areas from tribe hunting areas, as the Cofan rely on hunting small game for food. Plant and animal extraction are strictly prohibited by the Cofan. The illegal export of toucans and parrots by tourists has been cited as a major problem in the Amazon.²² Grassroots ecotourism empowers native Amazon tribes to effectively participate in the modern world economy while preserving their way of life and ultimately their existence.

In August of 1999 I was able to visit several indigenous villages while touring the Amazon. These communities were very poor. They had no running water or electricity. The women were cooking the evening meal, which mostly consisted of plantains. Many of the men were absent from the village out hunting and those that remained were carving out a canoe using primitive tools. The Yanomami rely mostly on their staple foods such as plantains and yams for nourishment. Sometimes on special occasions such as visits from other tribes tapir or monkey is eaten.

I was only able to speak to the tribal people through the use of a translator. When asked about tribal beliefs, one of the members of the tribe told me that the fire never sleeps but remains continually burning. The fire is the center of family life for the Yanomami. The environment is also central to tribal life. The Yanomami live with respect for nature because as one tribal member stated, if nature is respected, then nature will sustain life.

26. Trans-Boundary Issues:

27. Rights:

28. References

Abramovitz, Janet N. "Taking a Stand: Cultivating a New Relationship with the World's Forests." Worldwatch Paper 140.
Washington DC: Worldwatch Institute, 1998. 5-84.

Amaro, Belisa. "Ecotourism and Ethics". Earth Island Journal.14.3 (1999) 16-17.

Arlen, Caroline. "Ecotour, Hold the Eco." U.S. News and World Report. 118.21 (1995): 61+.

Bernardo, Francisco Ritta. Amazon Emotions 2nd Ed. Manaus: Photoamazonica, 1998.

Blangy, Sylvie. "Ecotourism Without Tears." The UNESCO Courier. 52.7–8 (1999): 32-34.

Bowyer, Jim J. "Strategies for Ensuring the Survival of Tropical Forests: Can Logging Be One of Them?" Forest Products
Journal. 47.2 (1997): 15-24.

Carr, Thomas A., Heather L. Pederson, and Sunder Ramaswamy. "Rain Forest Entrepreneurs: Cashing In On Conservation."
Environment. 35.7 (1993): 12-22.

Erdos, Jorda E. "Biodiversity in the Amazon: Promoting Indigenous Stewardship as Policy." [web page]Feb.1998
http://www2.planeta.com/mader/planeta/0298/0298amazon.html. [Accessed 3 Sept 1999].

French, Hilary. "Challenging the WTO." World Watch. Nov./Dec. 1999, 23-27.

Honey, Martha. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? Washington DC: Island Press, 1999.

Inter-American Development Bank. "Ecotourism Development in the Amazon." [web page] June 1998; http://www.iadb.org/.
[Accessed 10 December 1999].

Mukherjee, Neela. "GATS and the Millennium Round of Multilateral Negotiations: Selected Issues from the Perspective of the
Developing Countries." Journal of World Trade. 4.33 (1999): 87-102.

Newton, Sturminster. "Brazil's Tribal People Threatened Again." The Ecologist. 29.5 (1999):305.

Salgado, Sebastiao. "A Sadness at the Heart of the World." Rolling Stone. 15 April 1999, 69-78.

Weaver, David. Ecotourism in the Less Developed World. N.Y.: CAB International, 1998.

Wiedmer, Christoph. "Solution Approaches for the Amazon." Greenpeace Report. December, 1998.

Related Web Sites

Cultural Survival
http://www.cs.org

Inter-American Development Bank
http://www.iadb.org

Rainforest Action Network
http://www.ran.org

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
http://www.eclacpos.org

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There are those who follow where the path may lead and there are those who go where there is no path and leave a trail . . . .