The Amazon: Brazil's Destruction Of Its Own National Treasure

Kate Byng-Hall Investigates The Wider Facts Surrounding The Amazon Controversy | Nature and Environmental

Photo by ViniLowRaw

The Amazon Rainforest has been dubbed the world’s ‘carbon store’: the millions of trees within it absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide which would otherwise remain in our atmosphere, making it an invaluable part of the Earth’s ecosystem.

The rainforest is arguably the most biodiverse habitat in the world, hosting three million species of wildlife, some of which only exist within its borders, as well as one million indigenous Brazilian people. Despite all this, the Amazon is on fire.

Fires are expected among the trees of the Amazon due to high temperatures and inevitable coincidental outbreaks. However, there have been 74,000 individual blazes in the rainforest since January of this year, the highest number since 2013, and an alarming 84% increase in fires compared to this time last year. This is not a coincidence.

Deforestation is a huge issue in Brazil, and the Amazon is a frequent target. In the constant battle for industrial land, predominantly for cattle farming, an area of the Amazon the size of a football pitch is flattened every minute. While this is usually done by bulldozers, it is also common practice for farmers and developers to set fires during the summer months in order to clear space quickly. It is highly likely that the large-scale fires in the Amazon which have left the world outraged in recent weeks were caused by such intentional fires.

You would imagine that the rapid destruction of such a rich and iconic area would be alarming to Brazilian leaders, but the country’s President Jair Bolsonaro openly supports industry over the environment, leading to criticism of Brazil’s priorities in protecting their rainforests.

Political Priorities

Bolsonaro is renowned for his explicit support of Brazil’s industry, even if its advancement comes to the detriment to the country’s natural habitats. 1.3 million hectares of the Amazon were destroyed in 2018, the highest level of deforestation in any country since 2001; Bolsonaro endorses such destruction. He also condones the use of fire in deforestation, meaning many hold him responsible for the recent outbreaks.

Since the news of the latest Amazon fires, the world has rushed to Brazil’s aid to try and save the global treasure. However, Bolsonaro initially refused to accept the £18 million in G7 funds which had been collected for the cause, as he accused France’s President Macron of being patronising and treating Brazil as if it were a colony when extending the offer.

Eventually he was persuaded to accept the aid, along with a £10 million contribution from the UK, but the fact that he didn’t welcome the help with open arms shows that he prioritises his pride over the welfare of the environmental wonder which he is supposed to be providing for.

Abusing the Amazon

1100 species of flora and fauna which live in the Amazon have already been classified as endangered as a result of deforestation and poaching.

Instead of trying to counteract this, Bolsonaro might be on the path to legalising both trophy and professional hunting of rare animals in the Amazon such as jaguars, and even opening commercial game reserves for just that purpose. Brazilian MP Valdir Colatto, who helped draft the proposal, says that it would prevent illegal slaughter and endangered species would still be protected, but there is no concrete evidence for this, and it is arguable that any form of legalised hunting is a threat to the Amazon’s incredible biodiversity.

Bolsonaro clearly has no regard for the Amazon’s status as a haven for wildlife to thrive, and doesn’t care if it is exposed to ruthless hunters as long as it increases the country’s income.

It is not just the Amazon’s wildlife which is at risk. A Brazilian congressional committee has recently approved a proposed constitutional amendment to allow agricultural developments to be expanded into indigenous reserves which were previously protected.

One million indigenous Brazilians live in the Amazon, separated into 400 different tribes with distinct languages, cultures, and lifestyles, but who all rely on the rainforest to sustain their centuries-old ways of life.

These ways of life are currently being seriously threatened by Bolsonaro’s focus on industry, and it is putting their lives as well as their cultures in danger.

In July 2019, leader of the Wajapi tribe, Emyra Wajapi, was stabbed to death by miners trying to invade the tribe’s territory armed with rifles. The Wajapi’s land has been a protected area since 1996, but since Bolsonaro has set the precedent that the rainforest is an opportunity for industrial expansion over anything else, the safety of tribes like the Wajapi is compromised.

Jair Bolsonaro’s disrespectful treatment of Brazil’s rainforests and their inhabitants is so concerning that he has been dubbed ‘a second Trump’. If the Amazon is to remain as diverse and essentially crucial to the Earth’s survival as it is now, Bolsonaro must be stopped before it is all destroyed.

A Devastating Epidemic

The threat to the Amazon is not only worrying for the world because of its vital contribution to keeping our atmosphere clean, but also because it can encourage similar destruction elsewhere.

The Tragedy of the Commons is a theory put forward by American ecologist Garrett Hardin that if a few people choose to do something that harms the environment, then everyone will feel they have the right to do the same thing because their abstinence from it would make no difference. This can take effect on a global scale.

As other countries see the deforestation of the Amazon, they may feel entitled to fell trees of their own because they believe that them not doing so would not be enough to repair the damage in Brazil. This mentality could lead to even more substantial loss of essential natural habitats across the planet.

If the Amazon, and habitats like it across the globe, no matter the size, are not protected as a matter of urgency, then this deforestation Tragedy could be catastrophic. The fires in the Amazon should be a wake-up call for the world to wake up and protect our rainforests before it is too late.

Want to help now? You can donate to Rainforest Alliance Here.

---

We are a conscious publication and platform providing social-ethical insight and acknowledgement about topics that matter. Ethical insight, one place. We are non-profit and funded by readers like you. | To support our work and journalism, please consider becoming an advocate from £1 per month.