Brazil hopes new push for ecotourism can help save Amazon rain forestJanuary 28, 1998Web posted at: 3:46 p.m. EDT (1546 GMT) From CNN Rio de Janeiro Bureau Chief Marina Mirabella RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- More than 10 million people live in Brazil's Amazon jungle. And many of them rely on the riches of the forest to survive. But since the 1970s, ranchers, farmers and gold miners have destroyed about one-tenth of the Amazon's forest -- an area the size of France. Though the Brazilian government has tried to crack down on deforestation, the destruction accelerates. Inhabitants of the Amazon say it's a matter of survival. "My husband and I have eight children," said Silveria de Souza through a translator. "We have to clear the jungle to plant food."
Even with hundreds of inspectors monitoring the Amazon, the area is so vast that it's virtually impossible to control deforestation by force. So the government is trying a different tactic: ecotourism -- spending millions to develop tourism centered on nature. "People can make money from the rain forest without destroying it," said Aldenir Paraguassu of Brazil's Environment Ministry. "It's just a matter of showing them how" with strategies like conferences and educational material. More tourists, more jobsDeep in the rain forest in the state of Amazonas, the jungle is already attracting tourists from around the world. "It's all so pure," said tourist Katia Gorum, "so absolutely unspoiled, and I think it's awesome." Tourists hire local guides to learn about the rain forest and to journey up river, where they visit remote villages and buy handicrafts made by those who live here. They stay at hotels that range from luxurious to primitive -- like a jungle lodge, built literally in the trees, hours from civilization. The ecotourism boom has created hundreds of new jobs and put money in the pockets of local residents.
"Before, there were no jobs," said Maria Oliviera, a hotel maid. "Now there are new opportunities." New opportunities -- and a new perspective on Brazil's natural resources, said environmentalist Alcide Filho. "Those involved in ecotourism are now looking at the rain forest differently," Filho said. "It is the reason visitors are here spending money." Ecotourism is relatively new to Brazil. Environmentalists hope that as the industry grows -- creating more jobs and bringing more money to the Amazon -- fewer Brazilians will feel compelled to cut, clear and burn the world's largest rain forest. 
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