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Brazil is the largest country in South America with an area of 8,514,770 km2. Its territory offers a great variety of natural, renewable and non-renewable resources, thanks to its mines, enormous bodies of water and its fertile lands. However, despite the fact that the exploitation of its resources has caused Brazil to undergo great economic development, within its borders there are great social inequalities, and strong environmental degradation.
If you want to know what riches Brazil has, be sure to read this interesting article by Ecologist Verde in which they will be shown 8 natural resources of Brazil.
Mineral resources
Brazil has a great variety of mineral resources, kaolinite, tantalite, asbestos, graphite, talc, tin, magnesite, niobite, vermiculite, gold, phosphates and iron are extracted.
Among all the minerals, the production of niobium and iron stands out. Brazil is one of the largest iron exporters worldwide, being one of the great factors that contribute to the country's economy.
Gold
Gold in Brazil had a great importance in the 80s, making the country climb positions with respect to its economy. However, the contamination that the soil has suffered from the abusive use of mercury has caused this mineral to be degraded. Despite this, the export and sale of gold in Brazil it is still a very significant economic factor.
Oil and natural gas
The natural gas and oil reserves in Brazil They are located mainly in oceanic regions along the entire coastline. However, in the Amazon the reserves of both resources are smaller.
In a study carried out in 2010, it was revealed that approximately 50% of the discoveries of oil deposits found on planet Earth occurred in the Brazilian territory.
Wood
Wood is another important resource that can be found in Brazil and is used mainly by the local population. It is one of the main sources of wealth that the country has.
The logging It is increasing and it is estimated that almost half of the timber extraction in the country is carried out illegally, since it comes from indigenous reserves, protected areas or public lands. We recommend you read this other article about Deforestation in the Amazon: causes and consequences.
Hydroelectric power
Studies estimate that almost 80% of the electrical energy produced in Brazil comes from the water masses that are present in its territory. The Amazon River is one of the main energy-producing bodies of waterIn fact, a large part of the hydraulic power is located in the Amazon River basin. There are approximately 200 hydroelectric plants spread over the territory of Brazil.
Despite the fact that hydropower is more beneficial for the environment when compared to the energy from burning fossil fuels, the construction of hydroelectric power plants has a strong environmental impact on ecosystems.
Food resources
Among the food resources that can be found in the Brazilian country are sugar cane, cotton, oranges, soybeans, pork and beef. In addition, there are plant species of great commercial importance such as the Brazilian chestnut or coquito, guarana, the rubber tree or seringueira, bamboo, mahogany or rosewood, among others.
Finally, and being one of the main agricultural products that is exported to the rest of the world, the country has a great coffee production.
Flora of Brazil
In Brazil we find the Amazon rainforest or Amazon, being the greatest forest wealth in Brazil. Although this is being seriously affected by the deforestation that it suffers with the aim of allocating the land to agriculture, livestock, mining and for the extraction of wood.
Among the flora of Brazil is a great variety of medicinal plants, some of these species are:
- Rosewood Aniba rosaeodora Ducke
- Araticum Annona glaucophylla R. E. Fr.
- Gonzalo-alves Astronium fraxinifolium Schott ex Spreng
- Brazil stick Caesalpinia echinata Lam.
- Piqui Brazilian caryocar Cambess
- Field cotton Cochlospermum regium (Schrank) Pilg.
- Faveriro Dimorphandra wilsonii Rizzini
- Caiapiá, carapiá Dorstenia arifolia Lam
- Garlic stick Gallesia gorazema (Vell.) Mog
- Caroba Jacaranda heterophylla Bureau & K. Schum.
- Arnica Lychnophora ericoides Mart.
- Jaborandi Pilocarpus jaborandi Holmes
- Guapeva Pouteria Torta (Mart.) Radlk
You can learn more about the flora of this country in our article on the Flora and fauna of Brazil.
Fishing
Brazil is a coastal country with an extensive coastline, a wide continental shelf, a large number of reservoirs and lakes, and huge river basins. Fishing in its territory occurs both on a small scale and at an industrial level, being a great source of food and income for Brazil.
We encourage you to learn more about this topic with this other article What are natural resources.
If you want to read more articles similar to Natural resources of Brazil, we recommend that you enter our category of Other environment.
Bibliography- Suelma Ribeiro Silva, Ximena Buitrón, Lúcia Helena de Oliveira and Marcus Vinícius M. Martins. German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit - BMZ) and Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis - IBAMA). IUCN Systems. MEDICINAL PLANTS OF BRAZIL: GENERAL ASPECTS ON LEGISLATION AND TRADE. Available at: https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/Traf-067.pdf
