Amazon forest loss accelerated in the shadows of the pandemic 2 minutes read
By Fernando Gimeno
Lima, Apr 22 (EFE).- The Amazon region is experiencing an alarming level of deforestation that has gone largely unnoticed amid the pandemic, with 2.3 million hectares (8,880 square miles) of jungle lost in 2020 alone, an area roughly equivalent to the Central American nation of El Salvador.
The latest estimates from the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP), which uses satellite imagery to track forest loss, show that the rate of deforestation in that nine-country region has accelerated during the health emergency.
Indeed, despite the much greater international media coverage of Amazon fires in 2019, the blazes in 2020 were much more severe and led to a 17 percent year-over-year increase in Amazon primary forest loss.
Brazil s promises to slash forest losses empty , researchers say ahead of Biden summit Reuters 4/19/2021
By Mauricio Angelo
BRASILIA, April 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Brazil s updated national climate change plan would allow the country to step up forest losses to a rate 78% above those before President Jair Bolsonao took office and 20% above last year s levels, Brazilian researchers said.
As Bolsonaro prepares to take part in U.S. President Joe Biden s international climate summit this week, Brazil s plan - announced in December - shows a lack of ambition to tackle climate change that could undermine global efforts, they said.
Bolsonaro s administration has overseen large-scale expansion of farming, ranching and mining in the Amazon and other natural areas of Brazil as the country pursues economic development.
By Mauricio Angelo
BRASILIA, April 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Brazil s updated national climate change plan would allow the country to step up forest losses to a rate 78% above those before President Jair Bolsonao took office and 20% above last year s levels, Brazilian researchers said.
As Bolsonaro prepares to take part in U.S. President Joe Biden s international climate summit this week, Brazil s plan - announced in December - shows a lack of ambition to tackle climate change that could undermine global efforts, they said.
Bolsonaro s administration has overseen large-scale expansion of farming, ranching and mining in the Amazon and other natural areas of Brazil as the country pursues economic development.
Secondary Forest in the Tapajós region of the Brazilian Amazon Viola Heinrich Spatial patterns of secondary forest regrowth 19 March 2021 Large areas of forests regrowing in the Amazon to help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, are being limited by climate and human activity. Large areas of forests regrowing in the Amazon to help reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, are being limited by climate and human activity. The forests, which naturally regrow on land previously deforested for agriculture and now abandoned, are developing at different speeds. Researchers at the University of Bristol have found a link between slower tree-growth and land previously scorched by fire.
Combatting illegal Amazon deforestation
Cattle farming continues to be the motor driving the logging. More than 90% of deforestation is illegal, and a majority of that land is used for grazing, according to the Brazilian conservation NGO Imazon. Following the path of the animals that are raised on this land is a massive challenge. If European consumers want to know where the leather comes from, they will face many difficulties, said Faggin. This industry has a complex supply chain. It’s very difficult to follow the path of the product after the slaughterhouse.
Leather follows an obscure route
To understand the origins of the leather the manufacturers use, the study delved into complex network of international commerce between Brazil and major importers around the world. It mapped these relations using company documents, studies detailing environmental crimes committed by Brazilian cattle farms, and information on Panjiva, a global trade database.