percentage of land area
GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Latin America and the Caribbean
percentage of total population
link has been created from the Peruvian ports of San Juan de Marcona to Brazilian ports and cities throughout the City of Rio Branco Special Export Zone (ZPE). Such an infrastructure, part of the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure
(Chapter 1). Rural
of South America (IIRSA), is facilitating the transformation of forests and other ecosystems into agricultural lands and pasture for cattle grazing (Fraser 2014; Southworth et al. 2011; Calderón and Servén 2010; Delgado 2008).
The population in LAC is mostly urban, (Chapter 1) and growth rates indicate that the proportion of the urban population will continue to grow. (Figure 2.4.4).
Cities exert different pressures on land resources. Although their direct impact is restricted to a small area, it has more than doubled between 1975 and 2014 (Pesaresi et al. 2014). The indirect impact is more significant. As populations grow, cities need more resources and expand their footprint. At the same, time urban activities take over from rural activities at the edge of the city. At the rural-urban interface, agriculture and urban land uses coexist. However, the most profitable land use activity, usually urban, displaces others.
On the other hand, urban growth in the region is also accompanied by the abandonment of land in rural areas
Figure 2.4.4: Urban population (% of total population) and urban area (per cent of LAC).
90
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 Years
Source: Pesaresi et al. 2014; UNEP 2016b 84
0.40 0.35 0.30 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.45 0.00
2000 2005 2010 2015 Urban area (% LAC)
development
has favoured
landholders. Small holders flock to the cities in search of opportunities. This process reduces
pressures Mining and oil exploitation
As stated in Chapter 1, the region has experienced a rapid development of mineral resource extraction. Many countries of the LAC region have been exploiting mineral resources and hydrocarbons since the earlier part of the 20th century, while others have become increasingly dependent on these commodities for export only in recent years (OPEC 2015).
Oil exploration and mining usually displace other useful production such as agriculture, forestry, and cattle grazing. This means that mineral exploitation in one location produces an indirect pressure in other areas through the displacement of activities (Burneo et al. 2011).
Since many operations are in remote locations, companies build infrastructure for exploiting, transporting and even processing the mineral resources. This generates the same pressures on land as the building of other infrastructure (Carter 2005; Miranda et al. 2005).
Illegal mining is a significant environmental issue in many countries, mostly in South America. For instance, in Madre de Dios, an important area of the Peruvian Amazon, the alluvial gold mining has devastated more than 500 square kilometres of forest (MINAM 2016). This level of earthmoving destroys ecosystems and habitats, alters drainage systems and causes biodiversity loss. Furthermore, this illegal activity produces toxic waste (e.g. cyanide or mercury) which pollutes ecosystems and affects human health.
2.4.3 State and Trends
From 2001 to 2013, 17 per cent of new cropland and 57 per cent of new pasture land in LAC were established in forest
the countryside but usually results in spontaneous and unplanned urban growth (Seto et al. 2012).
large on
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