Human Greed is Eating the Amazon
When was it decided that our appetite for animal products was more important than the richest ecosystem on our planet?
The Amazon is close to the tipping point, from which there is no return. Now more than ever we must fight to protect it.
Amaz(ing)on
The Amazon is incredible and incredibly big. The rainforest covers land in 8 countries and is a whopping 6.7 million square kilometres in size, to put that into perspective that is 28 times the size of the UK (WWF). 15% of the photosynthesis happening on the whole planet occurs in the Amazon (WWF. 2022), it contains 10% of the species known on Earth, and is home to 47 million people including 400 different indigenous groups (WWF).
Bursting with biodiversity and beauty it is not only essential for those who inhabit it but for the whole world. The health of our planet depends on the Amazon, with the rainforest holding 150-200 billion tons of carbon it helps to stabilise our climate (WWF. 2022). However, the more of the Amazon we destroy, the more threats to the planet exist.
The Amazon is getting dangerously close to the ‘tipping point’. This is the point at which the Amazon will no longer be able to support itself and we will be beyond the point of return. 20% deforestation has been quoted as the tipping point, and we are not far away, deforestation has reached 17% of the forest, which is equal to the size of France (WWF).
There are three theoretical tipping point thresholds; decreasing annual rainfall, increasing dry season length, and percentage of forest lost. One-third of the Amazon has already experienced at least one of these thresholds. We might even push the Amazon to a state of permanent degradation.
We are eating up the Amazon
Since you started reading this article (probably just 1 minute ago) an area the size of 5 football pitches has been cut down (WWF). And the main driver? Cattle ranching.
The growing demand for beef and soy (mainly used to feed cattle) is pushing further deforestation of the rainforest so it can be used for pasture and cropland. Theoretically, large beef plants such as those run by JBS, one of Brazil's largest beef providers, don’t accept cattle from deforested land. However, the practice of cattle laundering is common (Vox. 2022). Cattle Laundering is where cattle from dirty ranches (those that contribute to deforestation) get sent to clean ranches (those without links to deforestation) before they are sent to the slaughterhouse. Therefore, when checks on where these cows came from are carried out, usually only the last ranch is looked at, allowing cattle reared on the deforested remains of the Amazon to be sold across the world.
The part of politics
Brazil is home to a large proportion of the Amazon, so the political leader has a monumental impact on the health of the rainforest. At the beginning of the year, 4 years of presidential leadership by Jair Bolsonaro came to an end. During this time Bolsonaro cut back on the environmental protection of the Amazon and took money away from the agencies that are responsible for its protection, which was thought to be due to his promotion of agribusinesses (BBC. 2022 and Greenpeace. 2022). This resulted in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest hitting a 6-year high for levels of deforestation from January to June 2022, where 3,988km squared were cleared.
His presidency has ended and hope may be on the horizon. Lula de Silva, the new president, aims “to achieve zero deforestation in the Amazon”, “in addition to encouraging the revitalisation of degraded pastures”. He has also reactivated the Amazon fund which was a key tool for preserving the Amazon, which Bolsonaro abandoned (The Guardian. 2023a and 2023b). And he’s got a good track record, during his previous time in office deforestation dropped by 70%. So we might have politics back on the side of the Amazon but there is still a lot to be done.
How can I help?
Reading about this devastating destruction can leave us feeling small and helpless, but individual actions will be essential in helping the recovery of the lungs of our planet. So we’ve put together a list of a few ideas of how you can help the Amazon:
Learn about the Amazon and spread the word among friends and family. WWF has some great resources to check out.
Check food products before you buy them to ensure they haven’t come from deforested land and are responsibly sourced. You can check this through the Rainforest Alliance’s page for rainforest-safe products.
Avoid beef and help lower its demand.
Switch your search engine to Ecosia which uses its income to plant trees with projects all over the world.
Donate to an organisation fighting deforestation such as Rainforest Action Network, Rainforest Trust, Amazon Watch and Rainforest Alliance.
The Amazon's importance cannot be overstated. The protection of this boiling pot of biodiversity is essential for the future of the planet.
References
BBC. 2022. Amazon Rainforest: Highest deforestation rate in six years. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62103336
Greenpeace. 2022. How Deforestation is Tipping the Amazon to a Climate Tipping Point. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/55359/amazon-rainforest-facts-deforestation-fires-climate/
The Guardian. 2023a. Record Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest Shows Challenge Facing Lula. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/10/brazil-record-deforestation-amazon-rainforest-lula-bolsonaro
The Guardian. 2023b. Can Lula save the Amazon? His record shows he might just pull it off. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/03/lula-protect-amazon-brazil-bolsonaro
Vox. 2022. Some people launder money. Other people launder cattle. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2022/10/19/23403330/amazon-rainforest-deforestation-cattle-laundering
WWF. Top Facts About The Amazon. https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/amazon
WWF. 2022. Risking The Amazon: Why We Need Immediate Action To Reduce The Tipping Point Risk. https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-11/RISKING%20THE%20AMAZON_final.pdf
