Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most important oxygen providers on Earth and possesses one of the greatest biodiversity that has ever existed on our planet. It is home to more than 168,000 people, the natives. The second largest river in the world, the Amazon, is located there.

According to BBC This year(2022), 3,988 square kilometers (about half the area of Puerto Rico) were deforested in the Brazilian Amazon forest between January and July. Last year(2021), 3,088 square kilometers of land was cleared in the same period. This number is growing for many reasons, but one of them is political.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has removed much of the environmental protections, giving illegal loggers the ability to use the Amazon rainforest as an endless resource of timber. The Brazilian Environment Minister, Ricardo Salles, when he was elected, had never visited the Amazon Rainforest before. The support that the government gives to the natives is almost non-existent, without giving them the conditions and resources to be able to continue to transmit their culture. The retaking of their lands was going well, but during this government almost no progress was made, and a bill (not approved) was created decreeing that the retaking of indigenous lands could only happen if the lands were occupied by them when the Brazilian Constitution, which approved the retaking of lands, was approved on October 5, 1988.

The government does not protect the forest against illegal loggers, but they are not only harming the Amazon forest, but also the cattle ranchers who, with government permission, burn the part of the forest they need for their farms. This fact alone is bad for the environment because they insist on doing this project there just because it is cheaper, since in Brazil there is a lot of empty space. The worst part is that in most cases the fire expands burning the wild part of the forest, killing many animals and destroying their homes.

This is almost reaching a point of no return, but we can't give up, you can do some actions at home to help like doubting when you see something extremely cheap, stop or reduce your meat consumption, study more about it, respect the natives and help them with their fight for their original lands. A lot of NGOs deal with this issue, one of them is the SOS Amazônia an organization that is working hard on the reforestation of the forest and giving support to the natives.

Resources:

BBC article 1:Amazon Rainforest: Highest deforestation rate in six years - BBC News

BBC article 2:Amazon rainforest deforestation 'worst in 10 years', says Brazil - BBC News

SOS Amazônia:SOS Amazônia | Home (sosamazonia.org.br)

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