Introduction:

The Amazon rainforest, covering much of northwestern Brazil and extending into Colombia, Peru and other South American countries, is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, famed for its biodiversity. The Amazon rainforests also called the ‘lungs of the earth’ account for 10% of the world’s terrestrial primary productivity and serves as a major carbon sink for nearly 20% of the total emissions. Climate change, largely induced by increasing anthropogenic activity is instrumental in the rapid degradation of these forests.

Body:

Effects of Policies:

• Over the last several days, the Amazon rainforest has been burning at a rate that has alarmed environmentalists and governments worldwide.
• Mostly caused by farmers clearing land, the fires have thrown the spotlight on Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies and anti-environment stance.
• The environmentalists are blaming Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for the forest fires.
• When Bolsonaro was running for president, he had promised to restore Brazil’s economy by exploring the economic potential of the Amazon rainforest.
• As per environmentalists, Bolsonaro has encouraged the farmers and ranchers to exploit and burn the rainforest like never before.
• According to the data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the Amazon Forests in Brazil has experienced 74,155 fires since January 2019.
• Amazon deforestation began in earnest in the 1970s, reaching its peak rate at the end of the 1990s and the start of the 2000s.
• In 2004, about 28,000 square km of forest had been cleared in Brazil alone (the Amazon spreads over nine countries, but 60 per cent of the rainforest is in Brazil).
• The thousands of fires burning in the Amazon don’t look like the major forest fires of Europe or North America — instead, they are fuelled mainly by branches, vegetation and other by-products of deforestation in cleared areas.

Impact on Environment:

• The Amazon rainforest is a repository of rich biodiversity and produces approximately 20% of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• It is home to many indigenous communities, their life depends on the forests.
• Additional Carbon Emissions: Carbon intake by the Amazon basin matches the emissions released by nations in the basin. The burning of forests, therefore, implies additional carbon emissions.
• Further deforestation could lead to Amazon’s transformation from the world’s largest rainforest to a savannah, which would reverse the region’s ecology.
• Savannah is a vegetation type that grows under hot, seasonally dry climatic conditions and is characterized by an open tree canopy (i.e., scattered trees) above a continuous tall grass understory (the vegetation layer between the forest canopy and the ground).
• The largest areas of savannah are found in Africa, South America, Australia, India, Myanmar (Burma)–Thailand region in Asia, and Madagascar.
• Impact on Water Cycle: Amazon rainforest has the ability to produce at least half of the rain it receives. The rain produced by the Amazon travels through the region and even reaches the Andes mountain range.

Measures needed:

• Reduce the use of wood and wood by-products in daily life to save trees and earth
• The government in the concerned countries should take measures to stop slash and burn agriculture
• Forest fires can be reduced if farmers reduce the burning of stubble in the area

Conclusion:

Amazon rainforests are unique and irreplaceable units. Its destruction is worrisome because it affects the lifeblood for entire Amazon region, we all should strive for protecting the rainforests in our best capability.