<P> In parts of the Amazon, the poor soil made plantation - based agriculture unprofitable . The key turning point in deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon was when colonists began to establish farms within the forest during the 1960s . Their farming system was based on crop cultivation and the slash - and - burn method . However, the colonists were unable to successfully manage their fields and the crops due to the loss of soil fertility and weed invasion due to this method . </P> <P> In indigenous areas of the Peruvian Amazon, such as the Urarina's Chambira River Basin, the soils are productive for only relatively short periods of time, therefore causing indigenous horticulturalists like the Urarina to move to new areas and clear more and more land . Amazonian colonization was ruled by cattle raising because ranching required little labor, generated decent profits, and land under state ownership to private companies, without term limits on the property rights . While the law was promoted as a "reforestation" measure, critics claimed the privatization measure would in fact encourage further deforestation of the Amazon, while surrendering the nation's rights over natural resources to foreign investors and leaving uncertain the fate of Peru's indigenous people, who do not typically hold formal title to the forestlands on which they subsist . Law 840 met widespread resistance and was eventually repealed by Peru's legislature for being unconstitutional . </P> <P> In 2015 illegal deforestation of the Amazon was on the rise again for the first time in decades, this was largely a result of consumer demand for products like palm oil . As consumer pressure increases, Brazilian farmers clear their land to make more space for crops like palm oil, and soy Also, studies done by Greenpeace showed that 300 billion tons of carbon, 40 times the annual greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, are stored in trees . In addition to the carbon release associated with deforestation, NASA has estimated that if deforestation levels proceed, the remaining worlds forests will disappear in about 100 years . The Brazilian government adopted a program called RED (United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Program) in order to help prevent deforestation . The RED program has helped more than 44 countries across Africa with the development of education programs and has donated more than 117 million to the program . </P> <P> Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest can be attributed to many different factors at local, national, and international levels . The rainforest is seen as a resource for cattle pasture, valuable hardwoods, housing space, farming space (especially for soybeans), road works (such as highways and smaller roads) and medicines . </P>

How many trees per acre were in the amazon rainforest 20 years ago