Avinashi Sahota - London
In South American forests, area the size of football pitches is being lost every 5 seconds due to deforestation. (BBC Seven Worlds One Planet, 2019) Of all the forests at risk, The Amazon, the largest on Earth, lies in the very heart of the continent. Over two million species of plants and animals live here, more than anywhere else in the 7 continents.
In 1965, the Brazilian government created and passed its first “Forest Code”, a law that required Amazonian landowners to maintain 35 -80 % of their property under native vegetation. This allowed rural farmers to buy land in the Amazon, but limited them to farming only 20% of this (Independent, 2020). This kind of law is unique to the Amazon as it doesn’t exist globally. In a way, the Forest code was aimed to ensure that the rainforest was protected, however enforcement has clearly been difficult since then. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to regulate, which lead to a new rule processed in 2010. This stated that it was mandatory for all rural properties to be registered by the government. It is clear that these regulations were not as efficient as hoped, as deforestation has significantly increased since these rules.
Currently Manaus, a Brazilian city on the Amazon river, is “buckling” (BBC 2020) under the second Covid wave. Manaus is lacking a basic product, oxygen, due to the ongoing impacts of deforestation. Serious side effects have come out from this as many have died unnecessarily due to suffocation. As the largest city in the Amazon region, hospitals are already under pressure and spaces are running out in hospitals. Although Brazil is slowly receiving supplies from Venezuela, inhabitants are forced to line up for cylinders of oxygen to save family members at home (BBC New, 2020).
By 2064, research predicts the Amazon to reach tipping point. The collapse has been caused by radical alterations in the past 50 years causing temperatures to decrease, wildfires to spread and droughts to hit the Amazon (Nature 2020). If drought, fire, deforestation, or reduced rainfall continue to damage this significant number of trees, this might transform large Amazon regions into a savannah ecosystem. If this happens, not only will people and animals in the region will be affected, but the billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide that will be emitted can severely alter climate patterns globally. There is still hope, as education on this is being spread, and more people are taking action to undo some of the disastrous effects.
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