The book offers a systematic analysis of economic development across the eight Amazonian countries—Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname—as well as the territory of French Guiana. It reveals how resource-intensive growth has exacerbated deforestation, ecological degradation and the erosion of indigenous rights.
 
Readers will gain a critical understanding of the structural tensions between conservation and development through landmark cases, including the Chevron pollution lawsuit, Ecuador’s Yasuní referendum and illegal mining in Peru’s Madre de Dios. The concluding assessment of the Amazon’s tipping point underscores the urgency of rainforest protection for global climate stability. Additionally, the book offers historical and structural analytical tools for exploring the complex relationship between society and nature.
 
This volume will be valuable for researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the fields of environmental governance, economic history, political ecology and Latin American studies.