The fires in Brazil's Amazon region continue to rage. For weeks, numerous clouds of smoke have been pouring through the heavily affected states of Rondônia and Roraima. And forests are also in flames in neighboring Paraguay and Bolivia.
The reason for the fire is man. Although it comes during the dry season every now and then to forest fires. But the vast majority of the fires were intentionally laid.
The problem with the fires is: Actually, they are only an indicator of where the rainforest was cut down weeks and months ago. For the most part is not the wet rain forest in flames, but dry small wood. It was simply left lying on the previously cleared glades. The wood of the big trees, on the other hand, is transported away immediately after felling and marketed. After the fires only the ashes remain on the fallow land. The piece of land is now free for cattle grazing areas or can be used as arable land for soybean cultivation.
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Brazil is far away, help for the Amazon forest does not seem to be possible from here. But in the long term, there are quite a few things consumers can do in Germany:
Wood extraction is one of the reasons for the decline of the Amazon forests. The renewable raw material is needed for paper and pulp production. According to the environmental organization Nabu, every German consumes about 200 kilograms of paper a year. When buying customers should pay particular attention to eco-paper , advises the Nabu. Also recycled toilet paper is useful. In addition, the writing paper consumption can be reduced by writing on both sides and fewer printouts on the computer.
Consumers can also do a lot when buying wood and furniture . Wood from more sustainable forestry is marked with the FSC seal. This seal as well as that of Naturland distinguishes also charcoal. Because even that is often made of tropical wood.
More than half of all deforested land in the Amazon is grazing land for the meat industry. Brazil is the largest exporter of beef worldwide. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, about 215 million cattle live in the country. In the last two decades, exports have more than quadrupled. The largest quantities of meat go to Asia. Nevertheless, imports into the EU have also increased. Consumers can reduce their meat consumption and prefer to buy local produce.
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However, the German meat industry also bears a responsibility. For in fattening companies protein-rich soy is fed, which is partly imported from Brazil. About 6.5 percent of the deforested area in the Amazon is used for agriculture, but the share of soybeans has recently declined. Consumers who want to pay attention to the rainforest should therefore also rely on organic meat in organic meat and pay attention to eco-labels.
Consumers can buy more sustainably even when buying smartphones . The production requires rare precious metals, such as rare earths. With 22 million tons, Brazil has the second largest reserves worldwide after China. The country had announced to invest millions in the mining of these coveted commodities. But for this purpose mines must be built, for which also forest areas have to give way. Therefore, users should use their smartphone as long as possible and not buy the latest model every time.
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Most recently, Greens boss Annalena Baerbock had demanded an import ban for soybeans and beef from current fire-cut areas in Brazil. "We can not import beef and soy from these devastated areas into the European market, otherwise we will not save this wonderful piece of land," she said Thursday.
The Mercosur trade agreement is also criticized. With the new treaty, the EU wants to create the largest free trade area in the world with the four South American countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Should it be ratified, companies will save billions in tariffs on the exchange of goods. Then more products could be shipped to Europe for their production.