Angle: Amazon Fire, why Brazil and the world "crisis"-Reuters News-International

Jake Spring

[Brazilia 25th Reuters]-A record number of fires in the rainforests of the Amazon basin, an important part of the global environment, is calling for international anger. Brazil's President Borzonaro has also sent troops to support fire fighting.

The information that should be known about this disaster is summarized.

<Why the Amazon basin is important>

The world's largest rainforest spreads across the Amazon River, where 60% of the basin is located in Brazil. In this tropical rainforest, many unique plant and animal species are nurtured and considered to be a treasure trove of biodiversity.

Dense primeval forests absorb a huge amount of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which is considered to be the biggest cause of climate change, and scientists believe that conservation of the Amazon rainforest is essential for combating global warming. Talking about it.

<How serious is a fire>

According to the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the number of forest fires across Brazil is at least the worst level since 2013, increasing by 84% from the beginning of the year to August 23 Yes. There have been 78,383 forest fires so far this year, about half of which have been in August.

Forest fires are increasing in eight of the nine provinces in the Amazon River basin, up 146% in the largest Amazonas. According to local residents of Rondonia and Amazonas, forest fires occur every year, but such a terrible year is not remembered, and smoke covers the area like a cloud.

<What causes the fire?>

In the Amazon River basin, there is often intentional arson for land reclamation. After the lumberer cuts the trees, the vegetation where the speculators remain is set on fire to clear the land and sell it to farmers and pastoralists. In the Amazon River basin, it has been months since the dry season, and fires are likely to spread.

According to environmental groups, President Borsonaro's claims to expand the development of the Amazon River basin make these customs bolder and not likely to be punished.

From January to July 2019, the area of ​​deforestation increased by 67% year-on-year, and tripled in July alone. Environmental groups see that logging and arson are done by the same people.

<Brazil government response>

President Borsonaro initially suggested that forest fires were almost normal, but then came to argue that fires were self-made by environmental NGOs to attack the administration. But he gave no grounds and later withdrew such claims.

The president has warned that other countries will not interfere with foreign capital as he aims to infringe on sovereignty of Brazil, stating that Brazil does not have the resources to extinguish fires in the vast areas of the Amazon basin.

The government has now decided to mobilize the army for fire fighting, and several states in the Amazon River basin have requested assistance. It remains unclear how the military units will be deployed and how effective they will be.

<Remarks from each country leader>

French President Macron pointed out that forest fires in the Amazon basin are an international emergency and "ecoside." The Brazilian government criticized that rainforest protection was inadequate.

The French Presidential Office issued a statement against the final approval of a trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the South American South Common Market (Mercosur). This is because President Borsonaro made false statements about environmental concerns when he agreed on the agreement at the 20-country (G20) summit in June.

British Prime Minister Johnson and German Merkel said they were concerned about the destruction of the Amazon River rainforest, but blocking trade agreements is not an appropriate response.

Mr. Macron said on May 25 that the leaders of the US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Canada are the annual G7 leaders on the “technical and financial support” agreement for the countries affected by forest fires, including Brazil. He stated that the final adjustment was made so that it could be adopted at the meeting.

US President Trump proposed support from the United States in a telephone conference with Mr. Borsonaro, but Brazilian officials have since revealed that they have not cooperated with the United States on fire fighting activities.

<The public reaction>

Brazil's main streets in Brasilia and Sao Paulo were paralyzed in Brazil in more than a dozen cities, protesting citizens protesting the government's insurgency against forest fires. Demonstrations were also conducted around the Brazilian embassy in Paris and London.

On social media, hashtags such as “#PrayForAmazon” (let's pray for Amazon) are on Twitter. On the other hand, users who post in support of the Borsonaro administration are also making a trend in the hashtag meaning “Amazon without NGO” on Twitter.

<Impact on climate change>

Scientists are concerned that if further destruction continues, the Amazon rainforest will reach an irreparable point and enter a death cycle that transforms from the rainforest into the savanna.

Brazilian climatologist Carlos Noble already believes that 15-17% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. Initially, researchers thought that if 40% of the total was destroyed, it would reach an irreparable point, but global warming also raised the temperature of the Amazon River basin and increased the number of forest fires, changing the way of looking. It was. For now, Mr. Noble says that this unrecoverable point will be around 20-25%.

According to Noble, if the unrecoverable point is reached, it will die over 30-50 years, and in the process, 200 billion tons of carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere. That would make it much more difficult to achieve the global goal of keeping the temperature rise within 1.5-2 degrees Celsius to avoid the most disruptive effects of climate change.

(Translation: Eklaren)