Lung of the planet, not quite !

The Brazilian government was elected based on the promise of relaxing the restrictions on deforestation and slashed funding for environmental protection, leading into the dry season.

“The funding for Brazil’s environment agency has gone down by 95% this year,” Yadvinder Malhi, professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford.

This has been implemented over the last 8 months, now Brazil is in the dry season, the fires are in areas that burn every year but are at record levels.

“Wildfires often occur in the dry season in Brazil but satellite dshed by Brazil’s space agency show an increase of 80% this year. BBC analysis has also found that the record number of fires being recorded coincides with a sharp drop in fines being handed out for environmental violations.” – www.bbc.com

Brazil has rejected a G7 ( Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK , US ) aid offer of US$22m (£18m), claiming that they have ulterior motives.

Well, yes there are ulterior motives.

The fires and deforestation of the Amazon has a direct effect on the global climate and the bio diversity around the world .

“But this felling also has an impact on the planet as a whole because the forest also plays a critical role in cleaning the air we breathe. It does this by sucking up the global emissions of carbon dioxide from things like cars, planes and power stations to name just a few. Without this “carbon sink” the world’s ability to lock up carbon will be reduced, compounding the effects of global warming.” –www.bbc.com/future

The decline or destruction of ecosystems rich in biological diversity has a snow ball effect on other ecosystems, all of which have direct or indirect consequences for humanity.

One ecosystem gives life to another.

OR

The death of one ecosystem leads to the death of another.

Christana Pasca Palmer, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said that the destruction of the worlds largest rain forest will have dire consequences for humanity, but she does have some optimism about the longer term reforestation plan that France and Chile are said to announce this month at the climate action summit.

The rain forest fires are still burning, and many claim that they will continue until the rainy season.

– by Heidi M, article originally written for The African Migrant

Print publication, Vic, Aus

Coming soon…………

Part 2 …. The Intimate link between the Amazon rainforest and the Sahara desert .

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