Looking beyond the Amazon fires

Amazon's on fire!

As I write this, I think I'm breathing just fine. I'm not even conscious of the act anyway. However, I do have a feeling that we may not be doing this for so long if we keep ignoring what's happening in the Amazon forest. Did you actually know that 20% of the Oxygen on earth come from there? I guess it's time to open those eyes wider.

The Amazon Rainforest spreads across Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname. It is the most diverse and largest rainforest in the world. It covers approximately 2.2 million square miles.

Why do we need the forests anyway?

Forget about the about the Amazon for a sec and consider the following importance of forests in general;

• They provide habitats for animals. 80% of terrestrial biodiversity is housed by forests. Key valuables obtained by these organisms from forests include: - shelter, food and protection.
• They prevent soil erosion. This helps in watershed protection and maintenance of soil integrity as well as reducing the amount of chemicals that reach adjacent water bodies dissolved in runoffs and storm water.
• Provide livelihoods for humans. Just over 13 million people across the globe depend on forests for their livelihoods. This is without considering the 300 million people who actually live in forests, out of which 60 million are indigenous.
• Carbon sequestration. Forests are only second to oceans as a storehouse for carbon. Absorption and storage of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) helps in mitigation of climate change.
• Rainfall source. Water vapor released by forests during transpiration eventually cool, condense and viola, rainfall! They are our water supply. (Read about the Congo forest and just how much rainfall it generates in my article: - https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/climate-change-starters-what-how-real-gets-john-erick/)
• Forests as buffer strips. They protect adjacent human residences and property in case of natural disasters such as floods
• Source of oxygen. This is perhaps the most important of the uses. During photosynthesis, the trees use Carbon (IV) Oxide and water in the presence of sunlight to make food. Oxygen is a by-product of this process. The planet gets most of its life-supporting gas from this.

Loss of Forest cover

It is clear that the innumerable uses of forests to humans, wildlife and climate can never be overstated.

However, the world is losing its forest covers so fast. The surging human population has resulted into an ever increasing need for more land for settlement and agricultural purposes. The human activities are a great threat to the survival of these natural resources. For example;

The Amazon Rainforest had for a very long time been considered fire-resistant because of interactions and balance in its natural environment. This does not mean that the fires are entirely uncommon. Before, the fires occurred at a low frequency and followed the pattern of the global climate and could go through dry season just fine.

With a new President in Brazil (the country takes 60% share of the Amazon forest) early this year, there are new policies concerning the forest. The policies, which are 'pro-business' have opened up the forest to human activities such as mining, drilling and farming. The deforestation is thus on a massive scale with the ranching farmers even going to an extent of deliberately starting fires to clear more forest cover for their activities. It is estimated that by 2030, with the current deforestation rates, a quarter of the Amazon will be without trees.

FACT: - There have been 72,843 fires in Brazil in 2019. Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon rose by more than 88% in June 2019 compared with the same month in 2018.

What next?

In the wake of climate change awareness, it is unfortunate that activities such as deforestation are indirectly being legalized in some countries. However, the general outcry for the Amazon has been amazing and is an indication that people are getting concerned.

The fires in the Amazon should serve as a red flag, clearly showing the intolerance of nature to our not-so-mindful activities. The use of natural resources without considering the ecological impacts of our activities is a route that would only lead to disaster. Human and ecological importance of natural resources must always be looked at through the same lens. That is sustainability! It is time we acknowledged the role of these forests to our long-term survival and not only protected them, but also planted even more of them.

The future of the planet relies on our ability to understand and take up our role in walking the sustainability path. Taking care of the forests is just the beginning of the streak.