The reactivation of the agricultural frontier and the increase in the rate of deforestation in the north of the BR -163, in the municípios of the Santarém and Belterra, Brazil (1999 - 2004)

Abstract

The reactivation of the agricultural frontier in Central Amazonia, a region that gravitates around the Santarém, is characterized by the arrival of new social agents and the transformation of the current farming systems. This reactivation is generating new social and economic dynamics and significant environmental impacts, specifically the increase in the rate of deforestation. Currently, we are attempting to understand this dynamic process by analyzing the area(s) which suffered from deforestation in the studied period (1999-2004). Specifically, we are trying to determine which factors are good indicators that a new area of tropical rainforest will be opened for its incorporation into the productive system in the North region of Cuiabá-Santarém (BR-163). We also hope to demonstrate the effects that this process has in the reorganization of the geographic space.