Solutions: Oraganizations

With such a large number of organizations devoted to saving to the Amazon there are a diverse number of techniques these organizations have taken to try and stop slash and burn agriculture in the Amazon.

A sustainable farm in the Amazon (RS 2013)

Many organizations have focused on encouraging poor farmers to discontinue the use of slash and burn in favor of using more sustainable farming methods. A small organization called the Crees Foundation that works in the Manu district of Peru works with community members in developing an agroforestry technique (Hance 2013). Using this technique a farmer grows multiple different crops, which helps to fix the nitrate levels of soil, keeping it fertile, so unlike slash and burn agriculture a farmer does not have to move plots every few years (Hance 2013). In addition, farmers also plant trees among with their crops which promotes biodiversity and provide shade for crops (Hance 2013). The Crees foundation provides volunteers and materials for farmers (Hance 2013). 


Others such as the World Wildlife Fund also support local communities in finding alternatives to slash and burn; in addition they work with communities on how to control slash and burn activities and to stop accidental fires that can result from slash and burn practices and burn down trees in the forest as well as rural homes and crops  (WWF 2013). Projects such as Sky Rainforest Rescue also see slash and burn as unsustainable; they enter communities and teach farmers new ways of farming as well as providing them with all the materials they will need( SR 2013) They also give them an annual cash reward for helping to stop unsustainable farming methods (SRR 2013).   
Other organizations act as enforcers of already existing laws. WWF- Brazil monitors government policies to ensure their efficiency and they propose legal actions when landowners break these laws (WWF 2013).
Through organization like these the Amazon is slowly begin saved.

Some organizations focus on the economical side of slash and burn. Soy is a monoculture crop in the Amazon and often large companies use slash and burn or land that has been slash and burned to grow soy, thus pushing subsistence farmers further into the forest causing them to clear more land.  (Butler 2012). Thus, organizations such as the Roundtable for Responsible Soy regulates the soy industry to make sure it is more sustainable and less damaging to the forest (RTRS 2013).  

Butler, R. (2012). Deforestation in the Amazon. Mongabay.com (Date Accessed: May 16, 2013.)   http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html

Hance, J. (2013) From Slash and Burn to Amazon Heroes: New Video Series Highlights Agricultural Transformation. Mongabay.com (Date Accessed: May 23, 2013.) http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0131-hance-werber-interview.html

(RTRS) Roundtable for Responsible Soy. Objectives. Responsiblesoy.org. (Date Accessed: May 12, 2013.) http://www.responsiblesoy.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=11&lang=en

(RS) Rainforest Saver. (2013) Keeping the Carbon in the Rainforest. http://www.rainforestsaver.org/ (Date Accessed: May 23, 2013.) http://www.rainforestsaver.org/keeping-the-carbon-in-the-rainforests

(SRR) Sky Rainforest Rescue. Sustainable Farming. rainforestrescue.sky.com. (Date Accessed: May 23, 2013.) https://rainforestrescue.sky.com/our-campaign/how-your-money-helps/sustainable-farming

 (WWF) World Wildlife Fund. What WWF. Wwf.panda.org. (Date Accessed: May 13, 2013.) http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/vision_amazon/models/responsible_forestry_amazon/what_wwf_does.cfm