Causes of Deforestation: Tropical Rainforests (Edexcel GCSE Geography A)

Population pressure: as population grows, more space for housing is needed

Logging and timber export

The opportunity for landless people to own a plot of land to grow food and use the wood for fuel

Palm oil plantations: large areas are cleared for palm oil as the demand for foods and cosmetics grows due to an increasing population

Improve infrastructure and provide energy for workers 

Mining: valuable minerals are found in the tropical rainforest, such as iron ore

The expansion of urbanisation and agriculture means that land is cleared 

Large areas of land are needed for cattle ranching, which usually involves 'slash and burn' techniques

Tourism: camps and lodges are being built to satisfy the demands of increased 'eco-tourism' visitors

Population pressure: since 1960, the government have wanted to open up the interior of the Amazon

Logging of valuable trees like mahogany, which can be sold for timber to make furniture. Other trees are cut down for paper products

Expanding cities. Cities like Parauapebas have grown rapidly due to workers arriving to work in the iron ore mines

Extension of agricultural land for cattle ranching: Brazil is the leading producer of beef

An opportunity for landless people to own a plot of land

Land required for growing soybeans—this was Brazil’s leading export for a period in the 2000s and has helped Brazil pay off debts

Exploiting the Amazon as a way to reduce poverty in Brazil

Large areas of land are needed for cattle ranching, which usually involves 'slash and burn' techniques

Infrastructure for farmers, loggers and miners

Minerals – the largest concentration of mineral resources is at Carajas, where there are large deposits of gold, iron ore, nickel, copper, manganese and bauxite (a key ingredient for making aluminium)

Road building such as the Trans-Amazon highway

HEP stations in the Amazon Basin have resulted in the flooding of large areas of forest. The flooding of the Balbina dam in Brazil resulted in the loss of 920 square miles of tropical rainforest