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How do the German and European Commodity Strategies affect the Amazon?

October 01st, 2014
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News from Berlin - The Amazon raises as much curiosity as mystery. On Wednesday 1st October, Berliners had the chance to discover more about this by attending a lecture on “Die europäische Rohstoffstrategie und ihre Auswirkungen auf Lateinamerika” (“The European Strategy on Raw Materials and its Impact on Latin America” by Armin Mathis (Universidade Federal do Pará, Brazil), a German expert in Amazon studies. The lecture took place at 17.00 at the Freie Universität Berlin.

In his presentation, Professor Mathis talked about the consequences of increasing demand for mineral resources. It has not only led to higher prices, but also to changes in the supply and demand of the global market. According to information provided by the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut on the topic, since 2006 the European Commission has started to develop strategies regarding commodities to avoid the negative consequences of these developments for the industry in Europe. In this lecture, the consequences of those strategies were analyzed.

Armin Mathis along with some colleagues partook in several studies on the gold panning in the Amazonia region from 1980 until 1990, giving special attention to the Amapá. The dominant feature of the region is that 90 percent of the total area is Amazon Rainforest. In Amapá, only 30 of the forests have been explored and the rest remains unknown. What it is also interesting is that the state’s capital and largest city Macapá can be reached only by boat or airplane.

News from Berlin – Berlin Global