Publisher's Synopsis
Amazonia is one of the world's most important tropical rain forests, yet powerful economic, social, and political forces view it as a prime site for development. Somehow a balance must be struck that allows for both progress and preservation. Juan de Onis spent two years and travelled over 36,000 kilometres to meet with settlers, ranchers, missionaries, politicians, academics, Indian chiefs, and environmentalists for this human portrait of the history, ecology, and prospects of the Amazon basin. Showing how controlled development can benefit the region, he argues that the successful conservation of the Amazon will depend as much on the fate of the local people as on that of the trees.
