History of the Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest was not always in a crisis, being well intact until the “modern” era of deforestation in the 1970’s. Deforestation worsened due to colonization during this time as government incentives to clear land for production combined with technological advancements such as chainsaws and bulldozers.
By 1995, more than 11 thousand square miles of land were cleared, the highest annual rate on record. Due to backlash to the shocking rates, deforestation has decreased since 1995 with environmental legislation being pushed such as the Environmental Crimes Act, signed in 1998 and Forest Code signed in 1996. However, this legislation has not been powerful enough to decrease deforestation substantially. Amazon deforestation has actually begun increasing in recent years and to this day, remains a huge environmental problem.
Current State of the Amazon Rainforest
Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest has been a cause of concern for many years, but gained headwave after the recent United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow. At this summit, Brazil pledged to end illegal deforestation in eight years and said they would reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 15 percent by next year. Despite the positive commitments, a recent report by Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research (Inpe), showed the rate of deforestation in the Amazon being at its worst in 15 years. It was reported that the rainforest had lost a shocking 5,100 square miles of tree cover from August 2020 to July 2021, with deforestation increasing by about 22 percent from the previous year.
These reports show that the Amazon is in a crisis, rapidly losing forested land at startling rates. This data came out after Brazil’s commitments and subsequently raised questions over whether their commitments would be enough to combat the damage.
Will Brazil Meet its goals?
Although many are pleased with the commitments made by Brazil at the Climate Summit, many are concerned that Brazil might not reach its goals. Questions arose as the report that displayed the increasing severity of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, was dated four days before the climate summit, but not released until after. This led many to believing this information was purposefully withheld before the summit. Joaquim Leite, the minister of the environment, denied hearing of the data and told New York Times reporters that, “Maybe it was out of caution that Inpe delayed publishing this data”. However, The New York Times also reported that Acioli de Olivo, the vice president of the union that represents space researchers working for the federal government said, “The report had been ready in mid-October, and was uploaded to a government platform accessible to officials before the climate conference began”. It has not been proven whether the information was purposefully withheld or not, but many claim that no matter the horrifying data, Brazil has the tools to fulfill the commitments made at the summit, if they have the will. It is clear that action needs to be taken towards protecting the Amazon Rainforest and Brazil meeting their goals set at the climate summit would be a promising start.
Sources
Fearnside, Philip. (2005). Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences. Conservation Biology. Cons Biol-Amazon deforestation-with-cover-page-v2.pdf
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