10,000 species could disappear from the Amazon rainforest: 35% of its surface has already been deforested or degraded, according to a landmark study.
More than 8,000 plant species and 2,300 animals face extinction as a result of the destruction wrought by human beings in the Amazon rainforest. A precious ecosystem that is inexorably collapsing: deforestation has reduced it by 18 per cent, while a further 17 per cent is nonetheless in a state of degradation. This is what emerges from the draft of one of the most detailed studies in history on the Amazon basin, previewed by the news agency Reuters.
The report, which is divided into 33 chapters, was produced by the Science panel for the Amazon (Spa) and brings together the research of 200 scientists from around the world. It currently represents the most detailed snapshot of the state of health of the Amazon, highlighting both its fundamental role in regulating the climate and the grave risks to which we are subjecting it.
Deforestation, which reached a peak last year, is also putting at risk the forest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide. The soil and trees store around 200 billion tonnes of CO2, a figure more than five times greater than the entire planet's annual emissions.
A study published in the journal Nature on 14 July reveals, however, that some parts of the Amazon are emitting more carbon than they are able to absorb. The fault lies not only with deliberate fires, but also with the rising plant mortality rate caused by drought and climbing temperatures, specifies lead author Luciana Gatti.
The only way to save one of the most important ecosystems we have, and the species it harbours, is, according to the Spa, to reduce deforestation to zero. Not to 1 or 2 per cent. To zero. At the same time, investing in the restoration of degraded areas is essential. "There is a very small window to reverse course. The fate of the Amazon is crucial to solving the global crises," comments Mercedes Bustamante, professor at the University of Brasília.
The problem is that "at the moment in Latin America there is no political will to act," explains Juan Manuel Santos, former president of Colombia. A country that in 2020 saw deforestation grow by 8 per cent, consuming 171,685 hectares of life. And yet, perhaps the most surprising thing is that cutting down trees is not even economically worthwhile. Agriculture in Brazil, for example, is dying because of drought. Drought that is caused precisely by the lack of vegetation. When will we realise that we are getting everything wrong?
