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Rainforest in flames

by Anna-Lena Kornfeld and Ferdinand Kuchlmayr

Some 36,300 fires were registered in the Brazilian Amazon from January to July 2019.

In August, that number doubled to over 86,000 fires.

These are the worst fires in years that are currently blazing in the Amazon. It affects areas in Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay, but focuses on the Brazilian rainforest. The effects can be felt even in the metropolis of São Paulo, which is 2,000 kilometers away: clouds of smoke and ash particles darkened the sky at times, residents reported black rain. On the Brazilian news portal G1 was read that two universities in investigations could detect fire residues in the rainwater.

The sky over São Paulo on August 19. (Andre Lucas / dpa)

Why is it burning?

Forest fires can naturally be triggered by lightning strikes. Climate change also promotes the emergence of forest fires; it plays a role in the major fires in Alaska and Siberia, for example. The fires in the Amazon are according to expert opinion but not natural, but of human origin.

It is common practice in the region to liberate already cleared farmland from fire using fouling. However, many fires are also laid in order to create more space for soybean and sugar cane plantations or areas for livestock farming. Environmentalists criticize in this context, the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. With his policy he created a climate that led to increased deforestation and slash-and-burn of rainforest.

In fact, Bolsonaro is considered a friend of the agricultural lobby. He is thinking aloud about opening up previously protected jungle regions to agriculture and plans to ease environmental controls. Official figures from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) cite the president's critics right: Between May and July of this year, much more rainforest was lost than during the same period in the previous three years.

Bolsonaro called these numbers misleading and fired after its publication ado the chief of the authority.

Not a record year

In the long-term comparison, the number of fires is not at record levels. Nevertheless, so far in the area of ​​the Amazon Biome raged this year far more fire than in previous years.

The basic problem is certainly not new, the massive deforestation of the rainforest is not a new phenomenon under Bolsonaro. According to the organization Global Forest Watch, since the year 2000 a total of 538,000 square kilometers of forest have disappeared in Brazil. The largest part fell victim to economic use, as an analysis from 2015 shows:

Rainforest clearing has declined throughout the Brazilian Amazon in recent years.

According to data from the Inpe, 1995 was the most devastating year in the Amazon: over 29,000 square kilometers of the Brazilian rainforest were lost at that time - that corresponds approximately to the area of ​​Brandenburg. After the clearing reached another similar level in 2004 with 27,772 square kilometers, the rate has been falling ever since. It is to be hoped that this trend will not reverse in the long term.

TEAM

Author: Ferdinand Kuchlmayr

Documentation: Maximilian Schäfer

Graphics: Anna-Lena Kornfeld, Ferdinand Kuchlmayr

Programming: Chris Kurt

Development: Max Heber

Editor: Olaf Heuser

Final Editorial: Katrin Zabel

Video footage: Reuters

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