Why the Amazon is burning: a short brief

Introduction

The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, plays a crucial role for our planet’s ecosystems and the survival of the human species. Not only does it produce 20% of the world’s oxygen. It slows down the process of global warming by absorbing and storing Co2 emissions. Thus, the Amazon is considered to be the ‘lungs of the planet’ (Yeung 2019; Symonds 2019). Since the far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro took office in January 2019, the rainforest has been under severe threat. Deforestation and the repealing of Amazona conservation were goals Bolsonaro formulated in the presidential campaign and unfortunately he kept his promises. For example, there is increasing divestment in institutions that are to regulate deforestation. Enforcement actions dictating fines, warnings and seizure and destruction for illegal deforestation equipment has fallen by 20% since last year (Casado & Londoño, 2019). In total, we see a loss of 1330 square miles of forest and deforestation rates that have increased by a rough 80% since June of last year. Furthermore, August has been characterized by extensive burning recording more than 72,000 fires so far this year. This number represents an 84% increase compared to the period in 2018 (Mufson & Freedman 2019; Watts 2019) Why is it that the fire rates have risen so radically?

Fires in Amazonas: an historical overview

Historically fires have not occurred naturally in the Amazon unless in extreme conditions (El Niño) as the moist rain forest is not flammable (Kauffman, 1991). However, fires have traditionally been used annually in the dryer months by small scale farmers and rural workers to clear forest for crops, clear pests, and maintenance of pasture (Cochrane & William, 2008). Often fire is used to clear land as it is low in labour intensity and costs.

Since the early 1970’s ignition sources have increased dramatically with forest colonization projects, large scale agriculture, industrial logging and urban development resulting in deforestation. In the increasingly flammable climate without proper fire breaks, fires spread rapidly and areas that have already burned are susceptible to more intense and frequent fires (Cochrane, 2009). As a result, forest fires, both wildfire and man-made have become a widespread disturbance factor in the Amazons.

Of the fires we see in Brazil today, 99% is human-lit. However, rather than being used as a tool to manage land on a small scale, the recent extreme surge in fires are part of Bolsonaro’s economic aspirations to clear out large forest areas to make land available for commercial exploitation. Thus, one strategy has been to encourage farmers, forestry workers and loggers to light fires and take control of it (Yeung, 2019).

Impact

The continuation of Bolsonaros policies that legitimize deforestation and fires will result in the Amazon reaching a tipping point where the forest will be unable to recover but rather die back, releasing 200 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Spring, 2019) . Hence, Bolsonaro’s policies does not only violate the rights of the indigenous tribes that have lived in the forests for centuries. Increased violence toward the ‘lungs of the planet’ will have devastating consequences globally making the 1,5 C target of the Paris agreement impossible to fulfill (Mufson & Freedman 2019).

Rural and working class women are those that suffer most from climate change. This is due to the fact that many are dependent on small-scale agriculture either as a source of livelihood and/or to access nutritious and affordable food. Moreover, if global warming will continue we can expect more extreme weather leading to less yields, harming of livestock, rising food prices and food shortages. This not only mean that rural women will experience more job losses and food insecurity. Since small-scale farming, mostly practiced by women, represent 70% of the total food consumed globally food shortages will hit world-wide 

Bolsonaro is part of a wave of right wing, populist heads of government, who deny climate change and threatens the livelihoods of millions of humans and non-human species. The importance of land and forestry use in Brazil and its global importance for environmental sustainability, carbon sequestration and biodiversity can not be overstated. We must show solidarity with the indigenous women who are at the front lines defending their land and human rights, and push back against the neoliberal growth agenda. Furthermore, the working class and the rural poor must continue their struggle against world leaders that sustain the capitalist system, the system which caused the climate crisis in the first place and which continues to exploit workers and our environment around the world.

References

Casado, L., Londoño, E., (2019), Under Brazil’s Far-Right Leader, Amazon Protections Slashed and Forests Fall, New York Times, July 28, [online], Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/world/americas/brazil-deforestation-amazon-bolsonaro.html?auth=login-facebook&login=facebook

Cochrane M.A., (2009), Fire, land use, land cover dynamics, and climate change in the Brazilian Amazon, In: Tropical Fire Ecology. Springer Praxis Books, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. 

Cochrane, M.A., Laurance, W.F., (2008), Ambio, 37(7/ 8) , Fire Ecology and Management, pp. 522-527. 

Kauffman, J.B.,(1991), Survival by Sprouting Following Fire in Tropical Forests in the Eastern Amazon, Biotropica. 23(3), pp.219-224. 

Mufson,S., Freedman, A., (2019),What you need to know about the Amazon rainforest, The Washington Post, August 27, [online], Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-amazon-rainforest-fires/2019/08/27/ac82b21e-c815-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html

Spring, J., (2019), Explainer: Why are the Amazon fires sparking a crisis for Brazil-and the world, Reuters, August 25, [online], Available at: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-brazil-environment-amazon-explainer/explainer-why-are-the-amazon-fires-sparking-a-crisis-for-brazil-and-the-world-idUKKCN1VF0UM

Symonds, A.,  (2019), Amazon Rainforest Fires: Here’s What’s Really Happening, The New York Times, August 28, [online], Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/world/americas/amazon-fire-brazil-bolsonaro.html?module=inline

Watts, J., (2019), Amazon fires: what is happening and is there anything we can do?, The Guardian, August 23, [online], Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/23/amazon-fires-global-leaders-urged-divert-brazil-suicide-path

Yeung, J., (2019), Blame humans for starting the Amazon fires, environmentalists say. CNN, August 23, [online], Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/22/americas/amazon-fires-humans-intl-hnk-trnd/index.html


This short brief was compiled by Lisa Broberg and Samina Dahlberg who are both interns for the Southern Africa Rural Women\’s Assembly.

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