The Amazon rainforest has suffered more than 80,000 fires since the start of the year and nearly 4,000 fires in August alone. In most cases, the raging wildfires are a mix of legal and illegal attempts to clear land in the Amazon for farms and cattle ranches. Farmers consider the Amazon prime real estate for logging and soy farming, which in turn is used to feed cattle. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has branded the model “unsustainable” and “at the crux” of the situation in the Amazon.

During the dry season, between May and September, agricultural practices result in widespread fires or so-called slash-and-burn farming. But the practice has led to an international outcry this year – the Amazon is the most diverse ecosystem on the planet and a major carbon sink. With widespread deforestation running rampant in Brazil and neighbouring countries, conservationists fear the Amazon will suffer irreparable damage by human hand. Dr Andrew Mayes from the School of Chemistry at the University of East Anglia told Express.co.uk money are at the root of the problem. READ MORE: How did the Amazon fire start? How long has it been on fire?

Amazon fires: The rainforest is being cleared for farmland and cattle ranches

Amazon fires: Annual number of fires in the Amazon rainforest

Dr Mayes said: “It’s interesting that people are taking an interest in the Amazon because that’s another perfect example of destruction for economic benefit. “Generally, the economic benefit of corporations and a small number of rich individuals is not of the benefit of indigenous populations.” On top of being a treasure trove of biodiversity, an estimated one million indigenous tribes call the Amazon rainforest their home. According to the Amazon welfare group Survival, there are about 400 different tribes living in the rainforest. READ MORE: Amazon rainforest shock map: DEADLY effect of Amazon fires

Some of these indigenous groups of people have not had contact with the outside world for 500 years. The group has also claimed there other tribes, so-called “uncontested tribes”, which have had no contact whatsoever. Other conservation groups like Greenpeace, have also stressed the importance of the Amazon rainforest in the fight against climate change. Greenpeace UK said: “If the fires continue to rage, it’s not just the rainforest that’s at stake – it’s our very survival. READ MORE: Is the Amazon approaching an irreversible tipping point?

Amazon fires: A million indigenous people live in the Amazon

Amazon fires: Land is being cleared at alarming rates legally and illegally

“Because if the Amazon dies, our chances of avoiding total climate change breakdown will be seriously under threat.” The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Tuesday, August 27, one of its satellites found the Amazon fires have dumped 228 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s right-wing President has not welcomed the calls to actions and has denied any culpability for the situation. When members of the G7 Summit offered £18million ($22million) to tackle the fires, the President has vowed to reject the offer.

Mr Bolsonaro expressed his concerns the world’s powers are trying to usurp control over the Amazon and even suggested NGOs were to blame for the fires. At the same time, Brazil’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles was heckled by protesters. Dr Mayes argued the political climate in Brazil is changing and slowly regressing by decades into the past. He said: “We’re going back to where we were in the 1980s.”

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