Amazon Rainforest Tours and Travel | Amazon, Inc.
The economic history of the Amazon River and its rainforest dates back centuries. Today the region's commerce is comprised chiefly of extraction enterprises and agriculture that share a fragile co-existence with hunting, gathering and eco-tourism. The region exports an eclectic mix of products, ranging from a thriving international electronics industry around Manaus, Brazil, to items crafted from bark, organic fibers, hammocks, bird feathers and pelts.
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Mahogany and cedar are the two major tree species harvested in the Amazon. While much timber is cut illegally, industry standards have been established for what is obtained legally. The international watchdog organization, Forest Stewardship Council, certifies Amazon timber that has been harvested according to standards of sustainability. Other natural resource industries include metals, natural gas and such minerals as bauxite, a component of aluminum. Diamonds are mined from the river itself.
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Pasture land for commercial cattle operations has replaced some areas of the Amazon as has the cultivation of such crops as soybeans (much of it used as livestock feed), sugar cane, avocados, coconuts, chocolate, coffee and tea. The Amazon's thin nutrient-poor topsoil becomes inefficient after a few years of constant cultivation. Yet these crops sustain the region's local population and provide a source of income where rural jobs are few. Latex from the Para rubber tree and Brazil nuts are harvested from trees that grow wild in the rainforest, while some species used for lumber are grown on plantations.
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Medicinal plants of many kinds are extracted from the Amazon. Some are used as local indigenous remedies for everything from heart disease to impotence, and others hold promise for the eradication of various diseases and conditions worldwide.
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While most of the fruit that comes from the Amazon is unknown to the wider world, the Acai palm (pronounced ah-sah-EE), produces a berry with natural antioxidant properties that is used in a popular Brazilian bluish purple energy health-drink. Acai processing plants are cropping up in the Brazil Amazon Rainforest. Another fruit, the gaurana, is made into a soda drink with caffeine-like properties.
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Since few of the thousands of plants growing in the Amazon have been analyzed or formulated into cosmetics, this lucrative industry holds great potential for the region. Capitalizing on the rainforest's image as pristine habitat and the remarkable beauty of its fashion models, an organic cosmetics industry is booming in the Brazil Amazon. Oil from a variety of Amazonian edible fruit-bearing trees is proving a popular ingredient in hair and skin products. Vitamin A-rich Murumuru, is formulated into a fruit-butter hair conditioner that protects the skin and follicles, making hair shine. Amazonian ucuuba fruit butter is used to produce black soaps.
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Brazil's population is a mix of many cultures, so the cosmetics industry produces a wide array of beauty products designed for many skin and hair types. The booming herbal business, whether for medicine or beauty, provides still another compelling reason for protecting the Amazon in its natural state.
