The colossal increase of blazing fires in the Amazon rainforest has caused international outrage. Scientists expressed warnings that the record-breaking spur of non-stop fires could strike a devastating blow to the fight against climate change. The entire planet was in a state of anxiety. In response, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has signed an order that bans the use of fire to clear land throughout the country for 60 days.
Fires are commonly used to clear the land for new crops or livestock, hence the practice of starting those fires to burn land in rural areas is completely normal among the farmers of the region. Furthermore, Bolsonaro insisted the Amazon should be opened to development and even defunded the agencies responsible for cracking down on illegal activity. His pro-development policies and lax regulation made it easy for ranchers and farmers to burn the rainforest for purposes of cultivation and farming.
What is so important about the Amazon? It is considered “the planets lungs” because estimates show that nearly 20% of oxygen produced by the Earth’s land comes from rainforests and the Amazon is a massive part of that. It covers 40% of South America spanning across eight countries! Not only does it provide us with the air we need to breathe, but it also puts an enormous amount of water into the atmosphere at a time when cities are drying up.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged the globe to do more to tackle the Amazonian fires and called the situation “very serious.” He said:
We are strongly appealing for the mobilization of resources and we have been in contact with countries to see whether, during the high-level session of the General Assembly, there could be a meeting devoted to the mobilization of support to the Amazon. Until now, we have not done enough, we need to do all together more than we have done in the past.
Yet, Bolsonaro is not making it so easy for others to help the Amazon. The special communications office for Bolsonaro told CNN that Brazil would turn down the $20 million aid offer that was pledged for the Amazon at the G7 summit in France. But then the Brazilian President had a change of heart and said if French president Macron apologizes for accusing Bolsonaro of “lying” to him about climate commitments during trade negotiations he’d accept the financial aid. However, the nation hasn’t rejected all support. It has accepted $12 million in aid from the UK government, which is a member of the G7.
