Amazon Rainforest Damage, Climate And Pollution

Once the earth's air cleaner, the Amazon rainforest has become an emitter of polluting gases and has lost much of its ability to remedy global warming.

Forests absorb CO2 and other pollutants from the atmosphere, also, help to stabilize the planet's climate, the Amazon is the largest jungle area in the world; recently, it has been found that some fractions of it emit more pollutants than they remove.

Over the years, concerns have been expressed globally regarding rising drought temperatures and worsening air quality; distributed in many countries, the Amazon rainforest has been the backbone for the world's air and cooling, but now, portions of it are being sold online, even on social media.

Greenhouse emissions, black carbon, particulate matter, and other types of pollution caused by human activities for agriculture, forestry, extractive industries, and infrastructure have a great influence on rainfall and air, in terms of natural patterns and composition.

Global warming and environmental pollution increase with deforestation, that have the consequence of causing drought and disease, as the plants disappear there is no way to dissipate the heat from the sun or clean the air. Trees in the rainforest are removed and replaced with lucrative activities that become emitters of environmental pollutants; fires have become a major player in deforestation in recent years, reports indicate that more than 2 million hectares were burned in 2020.

It is a problem due to the uncontrolled logging along the edge of the Amazon jungle, at the same time, the sale of plots can´t be allowed by local governments; the countries of the region, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela usually do not have control of what happens in these areas, often illegal and armed groups are associated. Although, rapid colonization has also been reported to respond to local and foreign economic pressures.

Experts still support the fact that these negative effects can be reversed, the issue of the Amazon forest has become an important discussion for world public health, because changes in this forest have consequences at the global level. These deforested "potholes" can be planted again to combat the negative effects associated with the climate and pollution or leave them intact permanently so nature can cover them up again. Image 1 shows the total primary loss of the Amazon rainforest in 2020. The countries with the greatest loss of primary forest in 2020 start with Brazil, followed by Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.

Clearly defined boundaries should be established, areas should be constantly monitored to prevent the entry of people for criminal purposes. Teams should be arranged to effectively fight burnings during the fire season, in general, the designated responsibilities for this personnel are volunteers. At the same time, it is necessary to think about how to restore the affected areas; it is convenient to look for this supported by ecological industrial operations.

Image 1: Loss of primary Amazon forest in 2020.

The Earth's Air Cleaner

The properties of plants to absorb CO2 and other gaseous pollutants are given due to their metabolism. The Amazon, as a rainforest, provides us with ecological well-being, the plants can dissipate the heat of the earth, also, produces a large amount of oxygen, and helps to maintain the water cycle; on the other hand, it supplies our needs as humans by providing us with spices, fruits, and medicinal products.

Its wide biodiversity of plants and animals is the highest on earth, it even contains species that have not yet been discovered. The humidity generated by the climatic conditions in this type of forest favor the presence of bacteria and microorganisms that are healthy and natural in these ecosystems; some bacteria produce methane within their metabolism, so it is not to be alarmed by the "chimneys" of methane in the Amazon caused by bacteria, on the other hand, it could be observed if these bacteria correspond to a change in the natural environment caused by environmental damage.

With deforestation, the properties of the Amazon rainforest to cool the planet and detoxify the air is lost, destroying millions of hectares that could contain unique plant species; at the same time, animals are affected, leaving millions dead or in danger by destroying their natural habitat.

The Amazon the jungle is home to many indigenous populations (see image 2), those communities have their own beliefs and languages ​​within the jungle apart from civilization; they remain powerless to assert the sovereignty of their lands against armed and illegal groups, this causes a loss in the conservation of the native cultures in these countries.

Image 2: Indigenous population, natives of the Amazon rainforest.

What´s More?

The Amazon is not the only endangered forest in the world, according to the analysis by Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN), human activities, including logging and changes in land use, often for agriculture, have destroyed 34% of ancient rainforests and degraded 30% globally. This will have great implications for the geography of the earth, for humans, there will be great consequences in terms of the climatic state and general health.

In the case of the Amazon rainforest, the affected lands are generally not restored to their forestal forms, nor are other designated areas to replenish the trees; instead, the land is replaced by human activities that further promote environmental pollution.

The increase in forest fires has also been reported at a global level, with this global warming is accentuated even more. In recent years, Australia has reported record spikes in wildfires and large decreases in rainfall across the region, an apocalyptic impression has been mentioned. Image 3 shows the fire crisis in Australia in the years 2019/2020 with its maximum peak on January 3, 2020.

Image 3: Maximum peak fires detected in Australia.

Damages worldwide and in the Amazon rainforest caused by the construction of dams in rivers, the extraction of resources, and the destruction of forests to be used for agriculture and livestock alter natural systems in various ways, especially both by climate change and environmental pollution. It should be understood that CO2 is not a lone actor, there are many more chemical compounds involved in environmental damage; at the same time, the damage involves the destruction of forests and plants, eliminating the way to clean up these pollutants.

There is no doubt that the disappearance of forests and natural areas is a global problem, especially, it becomes critical in the Amazon rainforest due to its influence on global public health related to its territorial magnitude. Being of global importance, this problem must be addressed by international entities, because regional capacities in the countries that make up the Amazon rainforest, often fall short to respond to forest damage

References

• Clarissa Gandour, Diego Menezes, João Pedro Vieira and Juliano J. Assunção. Forest Degradation in the Brazilian Amazon: Public Policy Must Target Phenomenon Related to Deforestation. March 9, 2021.

• Zemp, Delphine & Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich & Barbosa, Henrique & Rammig, Anja. (2017). Deforestation effects on Amazon forest resilience. Geophysical Research Letters. 10.1002/2017GL072955.

• Brazil's Amazon: Deforestation 'surges to 12-year high'. Published30 November 2020. Link https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55130304.

• The Amazon Rainforest Now Emits More Greenhouse Gases Than It Absorbs. Alex Fox. Smithsonian magazine. March 26, 2021.

• Matt McGrath. Climate change: 'Forever plant' seagrass faces uncertain future. BBC. Link https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56378397.

• Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project. MAA. Amazon Conservation. Link https://www.amazonconservation.org/news-resources/.

• BBC. Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. Published 31 January 2020. Link https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043.