Logger “I am concerned that managing

the forest more sustainably will

mean that I cannot cut as many
trees and I will lose my job.

Cattle Farmer “I need to keep slashing and

burning rainforest in order to
extend my cattle ranch.
Therefore I would like to carry
on doing this without
restrictions”

Amerindians “The forest has been our home

for thousands of years. We rely
on it for food and shelter and we
will do anything we can to
protect it.”

Head of a mining company “Our bottom line is profit and

we will work as hard as we can
to ensure we can continue
mining in the rainforest
irrespective of the
environmental problems.
Global warming expert “The rainforest provides an
essential service to the world. It
absorbs carbon dioxide and
releases oxygen. If we continue
to destroy it, global warming
could spiral out of control.”

Wildlife Expert “I am really concerned about

how the destruction of the
rainforest will affect our
precious wildlife as many
species could end up extinct.”

Medical Research Company “The rainforest is a valuable

resource for medicines
therefore we feel it should be
preserved for the future.”

Local Farmer “We chop down the rainforest

for our farms. We have to do
this to grow crops to survive and
this is more important than
saving the rainforest.”
Flooding Expert “The rainforest provides an
essential service – it protects
much of Brazil against flooding
as it absorbs a lot the rain which
falls here. Therefore I am fully
in favour of the measures to
protect the rainforest.”

Soil Expert “The rainforest provides a lot of

organic matter which is essential
to keep the soil fertile – if this
was to be destroyed then the
soil would become much less
fertile and people would starve.”

Resident of Rio “I live far away from the

rainforest in a favella in Brazil’s
capital city. I have to worry
about getting a job to make
money to buy food. I am not
really bothered what happens in
the rainforest so far away.”

The Brazilian President “As the head of government, I

want to see the rainforest used
sustainably. It is essential that
we use it for mining, logging and
other resources as this brings in
money. I am also fully aware
we need to as preserve it for
future generations.”
CITES “Our organisation is trying to
reduce the sale of endangered
animals and the products people
use them for. We want to see
the Amazon protected.

Children living in a local village “We got a brand new football

pitch when a mining company
came to create a huge pit near
our village. Me and my friends
don’t live in the rainforest
anymore so we just want more
things like electricity and the
internet.”