Last year was very bad for the Amazon, but this year may be worse. Fire season has begun ahead of schedule, and the rate of deforestation in Brazil is trotting 83% ahead of the same time one year ago. Deforestation is a problem among all the South American countries with land in the precious rainforest, but this month is the fourteenth consecutive month of increased deforestation for Brazil.
INPE’s (Brazil’s national space research institute) data for May shows that 830 square kilometers (sq. km) of rainforest were cleared in the “Legal Amazon.” That means that the total clearing is now at 6,437 sq km since August 1st. That’s an area bigger than Palestine or the state of Delaware.
Deforestation through the first five months of the year has increased by 40% (from 1,454 sq. km to 2,033 sq. km) compared to those same months last year. INPE’s official estimate for 2019 Amazon deforestation is 10,129 sq km. It’s the first time since 2008 that forest clearing surpasses 10,000 sq km. A Brazilian NGO called Imazon conducted an independent analysis and got similar figures as being reported by the government.
Scientists are concerned about the rise in deforestation. The combination of forest loss and climate change could trigger a tipping point for the rainforest from a wet and humid ecosystem to a drier one more prone to fires. Additional problems include less rainfall (locally and regionally), a less hospitable environment for species, and less carbon dioxide sequestration from the atmosphere.
A team of international scientists from Hybam (Hydrology of the Amazon Basin) National Observation Service warned that deforestation affects the entire biosphere by destabilizing the water cycle. The director, Jean-Michel Martinez, said:
If you gradually cut down the forest, you take away the engine of evaporation that feeds the river and you’ll completely destabilize the ecosystem.
A modification to the water cycle creates the risk of losing the tropical forest altogether. This will impact the local and regional economies by depriving agricultural areas, cities across South America, and hydroelectric dams of water. Signs of sustained drying trends are already underway and may be an indication of what’s to come.
Of course, this problem is not only with Brazil but with all countries of the Amazon Basin. Hence why seven South American countries got together a few months ago to sign an Amazon protection pact intended to help protect and conserve the ‘lungs of the world’ for the sake of all humanity.
