The Amazon is on Fire! Why it's not just Brazil's problem?

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed!

The recent catastrophe in the Brazil's Amazon rainforest is a testimony to the fact that man has taken nature for granted. The "Lungs of the Planet" which produces 20% of our planet's oxygen is burning incessantly today. It's high time that we realize that, not just Brazil, but the entire planet is at stake due to the carelessness of we human beings.

The Amazon rainforest also called as the Amazonia is a tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome which spans over nine nations including a large part of Brazil. The forests contain millions of species of plants and animals. More than 30 million people, including 350 indigenous and ethnic groups, live in the Amazon area and depend on the forests for food and shelter. The Amazon is vital for storing carbon and slowing down global warming.

The current fires in the Amazon are not wildfires. They are mostly set illegally by people who are clearing the forest to raise cattle and crops. Some of the blazes are started by farmers aiming to clear land, some by illegal loggers trying to cover their tracks, and some by negligence. Scientists warn that if enough of the forest is lost, it could enter a spiral of collapse. This is an outcome with global consequences, and if we cross this threshold of deforestation, it could be a point of no return. The main cause of such devastation is that the Brazil’s policy has changed under President Jair Bolsonaro. The new president has limited the power of forest protection agencies saying they get in the way of developing land. The number of fires is increasing because people think law enforcement won’t punish them.

The Amazon rainforest plays an important, complicated role in the regional and global climate. The towering mahogany, kapok, and Brazil nut trees of the Amazon play important parts in the orchestra of the region’s water system. The trees take in rainwater through their roots, move it up into the canopy, and release it into the air, a process called evapotranspiration. The trees also release volatile organic compounds that react to form tiny particles. These particles serve as nucleation points to form clouds and eventually lead to more rainfall. Multiply this pattern by the hundreds of billions of trees in the rainforest and you get a powerful mechanism for recycling water and generating rainfall that keeps even the thirstiest of trees quenched in hot tropical weather.
This rainfall pattern helps sustain agriculture throughout Brazil and top up reservoirs that hydrate major cities, feeding and quenching the thirst of millions. But these trees are rapidly disappearing, along with the shrubs, grasses, fungi, and soil bacteria that work alongside them to circulate moisture. The rate of deforestation in the Amazon has picked up again after years of decline, with roughly a soccer field-size area lost every minute.Once the rainforest loses a certain amount of area, this orchestra will fall out of tune. There will not be enough remaining tropical woodlands to continually evaporate and condense moisture through the forest. That flora in turn will weaken and move less moisture through the air, resulting in less rainfall for the forested areas even further downwind. These parched trees will become more vulnerable to pests and fire. The mighty stalwarts of the Amazon will shrivel up, and a wave of death will start at the periphery and propagate throughout as much of it degrades from a dense tropical forest into a sparse savanna. The cycle will continue without our input. And there will be little we can do to stop it. This is a scenario known as a forest dieback.

Scientists now think that all the stresses humanity is placing on the Amazon rainforest — agriculture, logging, global warming — mean that we’re closer to such an event than we realized before. “We believe that negative synergies between deforestation, climate change, and widespread use of fire indicate a tipping point for the Amazon system to flip to non-forest ecosystems in eastern, southern and central Amazonia at 20-25% deforestation,” wrote researchers Carlos Nobre and Thomas Lovejoy in an editorial in the journal Science Advances. But the fires in Amazon is an international crisis. Wealthy nations have offered Brazil at least $22 million to fight the fires. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio also offered $5 million for efforts to save the forest.

Fires are a major issue for our rainforests and planets. These fires are intensified by many factors, including the climate crisis and deforestation. Loss of habitat through illegal logging and development, exacerbates the intensity and duration of these fores, helping to create situations like the one in Brazilian Amazon today.

Nature is incredibly resilient, but the loss of our biodiversity is an absolute tragedy. we need to spread information, resources and inspiration to encourage all of us to create a world where biodiversity can not only survive, but begin to thrive again. While we may not be able to help effected areas directly, there is great value in being conscious of our individual impact. Little changes in our own lifestyle and mentality can go a long way.
Some of the changes that we can bring about in our lives are- 

1. Reducing meat/dairy consumption
2. Using eco-friendly products 
3. Avoiding plastic bags at grocery stores by using reusable bags
4. Efficiently utilizing the precious natural resources 
5. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. 
6. Print as Little as Necessary
7. Save Electricity! 
8. Save Water.
9. Avoid Taking Cars or Carpool When Possible                                             

If we inculcate such small steps in our life then we can certainly retain what is left in our hands and bequeath it to our next generation.  

Image source: www.preview.ph

A Write Up by 

Aishwarya S V

BMS College For Women, Bengaluru