Dawal, Jedidiah G.

BA Behavioral Sciences

Socio 153
Prof. Simbulan
Dilemmas of Development
Burning Season

The first dilemma of development is development vs. non-development. Why should a

community, whose subsistence and strategies are highly dependent on the rainforest,
think critically whether to accept or to reject the idea of development? I will propose
logical propositions to demonstrate the problem with regard to the development in the
documentary. Rooting from the UN Declaration on the Right to Development in 1986,
which state that development must be a holistic economic, social, cultural, and political
action directing towards sustained improvement of the well-being of the entire population
and of all citizens on the basis of active, free, and meaningful participation of
development and in just distribution of benefits resulting there from, it was clearly shown
that none of these aspects of development have been met in the documentary. First is
economic. From the start, it was showed that the local rubber tappers in the Amazon
rainforest would not prosper since the proposed idea of development will not complement
but rather destroy their source of living. The ranchers wanted to develop the forest for
their own advantages only. In fact, locals were oppressed and no plans or compensations
were even proposed once they leave the place. Second is social. High illiteracy and
mortality rates, and lack of basic social services are among the concrete evidences in the
failure of social aspect of development. Most of the locals do not know how to read since
they were deprived of education. As a result, they were exploited. According to Chico
Mendes, What is organization without education. Their social status is still determined
by birth, which is similar to caste-based society. Decision and rules are made for the

advantages of the ranchers. Next is the cultural aspect of development. Maximization of

achievement was never achieved since the proposed development will only benefit the
ranchers. They were once voiceless and was only given a chance to be heard when Chico
Mendes was invited at Miami to speak about the condition of his land and the
preservation of the rainforest. Last is political. The government of Brazil failed to
guarantee equality among the local rubber tappers. As what Chico Mendes says, We
dont need more laws. We need more [people] who will reinforce it. Having enough laws
does not guarantee equality to all as long as self-preservation becomes the paramount
concern of individuals. Despite the unions effort to fight for their land, the government
did nothing to address the problem. To add insult, the government sold the land to the
ranchers since the industry of latex production started to downfall due to the introduction
of synthetic latex. As a result, rich men become richer and poor men become poorer.
Moreover, there was also lack in the liberty among the citizens.

The second dilemma is Industrialization vs. Environment. Amazon rainforest serves as

a home not only for the rubber tappers but also to different species. The consequences
posed by its destruction will surely affect greater number of people as compared to those
who will benefit for its conversion. How can rubber tappers achieve an all-rounded
human development in the present and future without degrading the forest but are the
aims of growth and environmental protection insuppressibly incompatible? Local rubber
tappers in Amazon and other developing countries in fact suffer from social, political,
cultural and economic injustices posed by industrialization due environmental
degradation and climate change. These human-made threats to the environment only

intensify existing development problems. For example, the conversion of Amazon

Rainforest to commercial purpose is exerting and will continue to wield negative impacts
on the livelihood and food security of many local rubber tappers. If growth continues on
what has been called the business as usual development path, it is likely to exaggerate
existing development problems and compromise the well-being of present and future
generations.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that industrialization opens the door to
employment opportunities, which in turn, also open the door to establishing businesses to
satisfy the needs of those employed by the industry. In this way, everyone is equally
satisfied and well-compensated with industrialization. Even as industrialization is
essential to reap the benefit of modern technology and improve the level of economic
prosperity, it also creates some problems. In the case of the rubber tapper, destruction of
the forest is also seen as destruction of their livelihood and lives. In the bigger picture,
industrialization brings deterioration to quality of life due to urbanization, which
generally makes an area more crowded and polluted. Therefore serious environmental
problems such as ecological disturbances and climate change can be seen as unintended
results of the development process posed by the ranchers.

Comprehensively, Chico Mendes and his fellow locals are seen as hindrance to
development and denied from decision-making in matters that greatly affecting them. The
result has been elimination and degradation of their land base through commercial
exploitation. Like all human rights, the right to development belongs to everyone,

individually and collectively, having no discrimination in their participation. The

Declaration recognizes the right to self-determination and to full sovereignty over natural
wealth and resources. Sustainable development must be equitable from the locals
viewpoint in order to assure that their values are respected.

Source:
United Nations. (2014). Declaration of the Right to Development. Retrieved from
http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/drd/drd.html