Under Brazil’s Bolsonaro a surge in Amazon fire raises serious environmental concerns

Last updated on December 3rd, 2020 at 07:26 am

Amazon fire: Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon forest surged 50% in October, ceasing a streak where the area’s deforestation rate had dwindled for three straight months, as per the recent data released by the national space research institute INPE.

The report came shortly following Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro seemed to threaten the possibility of utilizing military power against the United States should it endeavor to force sanctions on the South American nation for its inability to curb the rising deforestation. 

INPE’s satellite-based deforestation warning system reveals that 836 square kilometers of Amazon forest trees were chopped down during October 2020. 

The clearing of the forests this year year-to-date brings it to 7,899 square kilometers, 6% less than where it remained a year ago when deforestation hit its peak level recorded since 2008. 

The October data likewise indicated a 3% rise in the degradation of forests and cutting down of trees which frequently lead to unmitigated deforestation. 66% of the region was impacted by fire last year. INPE assessed the amount of damage it caused, which was around 14,487 square kilometers, a land larger than the U.S. state of Connecticut.

Carlos Rittl, a Brazilian naturalist who serves at Germany’s Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, stated that the data were outrageous, disgraceful, and humiliating. A sharp warning regarding the damage done to the environment since Bolsonaro came to power in January 2019.

“This is a territory where a huge amount of land is covered with forest that is being lost basically in light of the fact that under Bolsonaro the individuals who are destroying it and feel no dread of being rebuffed,” Rittl added. 

“Bolsonaro’s extraordinary accomplishment with regards to the climate has been this unfortunate devastation of forests which has transformed Brazil into the greatest enemy of the environment and the globe,” he added. 

Environmental activists state that the destruction is tremendous and yet Brazil’s VP says it’s an improvement compared to last year. The expansion in the consumed zone isn’t surprising. The satellite pictures reveal widespread fires over the Brazilian Amazon and nearby regions like the Pantanal.

The fire has consumed thick tropical rainforests, secured regions, and Indigenous regions. Flames were so awful over the mid-year that President Bolsonaro sent in the military to attempt to suppress the flames. 

On Tuesday, Bolsonaro created a new controversy by warning the U.S. president-elect Joe Biden stating that Brazil would retaliate if Washington forces economic sanctions for the growing Amazon deforestation. 

Biden hinted there could be unknown financial consequences during his initial presidential debate. He likewise added that the world should help Brazil with $20 billion to battle Amazon deforestation. 

Bolsonaro is known for speaking controversial statements and provocative rhetoric. For instance, he’s accused actor Leonardo DiCaprio, other environmentalists, indigenous people of deforestation in the Amazon to divert global criticism for the Brazilian government’s work on reforming environmental law, energize mining, logging, and modern farming.