Um sistema de dinâmica demográfica para os municípios amazônicos

Population growth and migration represent an important underlying cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Models designed to simulate deforestation should therefore incorporate a demographic dynamics system to help project the influence of these variables on the location and rates of deforestation across the basin. We present a demographic model that projects population at municipality level by computing migration fluxes among the Amazonian municipalities and in and outward the region, as well as their crude birth and death rates. The annual projections from 1995 to 2035 are based mainly on mortality, fertility and migration data from 1991’s and 2000’s IBGE census. The model assumes a logistic curve to project the municipalities’ crude birth and death rates, which are derived using specific functions of fertility and mortality by age. The migratory fluxes were determined by establishing a origin-destiny matrix for all the Amazonian municipalities and Brazilian states for the 1995-2000 time period. VESIM, a system-thinking software which allows the solution of simultaneous equation for the 810 defined spatial units by employing integration techniques - such as the Runge-Kutta method, is used to implement the simulation model. Validation was performed comparing 2000’s IBGE municipality data. The model is designed to handle various scenarios of regional migration in face of the current projects to expand infrastructure across the Amazon region.