On Amazon Day, organizations raise alarm over preservation
The world’s largest tropical rainforest, the Amazon is assailed by various human activities, including deforestation, illegal mining, and land grabbing. This Tuesday (Sep. 5), on Amazon Day, organizations are reiterating the urgent need to preserve this biome.
Covering approximately 421 million hectares, the Amazon accounts for a third of the globe’s tropical forests and plays a vital role in a wide number of climatic processes, such as evaporation and transpiration from the forest, which help maintain climate balance and fresh water stocks. It is also home to over half of the planet’s biodiversity.
As per biodiversity conservation institute ICMBio, 224 species of Amazon fauna are under some kind of threat, and at least one has been considered extinct. A total of 139 species are categorized as vulnerable, 48 as endangered, and 38 as critically endangered.
Among the animals at risk are the Amazonian manatee, the giant anteater, the jaguar, the golden parakeet, and the tapir, classified as vulnerable. Some fish species, like the acari, are critically endangered.
In the view of Toya Manchineri, general coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon (Coiab), the Amazon Day is a day of struggle and reflection. Spearheading more than 70 indigenous organizations, Toya said there is not much to celebrate this year, because of the advance of deforestation, illegal mining, and threats to indigenous people and members of traditional communities under the Jair Bolsonaro government.
The forest
“It’s a special day of struggle and there’s nothing to celebrate, especially if we look at the data from the research agency, which refer to the previous administration. There’s mass destruction of the forest and the biome, and a growing wave of murders and persecution of indigenous people, quilombolas, and extractivists,” the indigenous leader told Agência Brasil. “[September] 5 is a chance for us to reflect on how we can stop these murders and the persecution of those who live in the forest,” he said.
Adriana Ramos, socio-environmental policy and law adviser at the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA), has a similar opinion. She pointed out that, despite recent figures showing a plunge in deforestation in the first seven months of the year, there is still a lot to be done. Official data show a 42 percent reduction in deforestation in the Amazon biome during this period. In July, the drop reached 66 percent, and it is likely to have stayed at a similar level in August.
“I’d say we don’t have much to celebrate, as there are a number of challenges we need to face, and they’re still a long way off. The Amazon is a large slice of Brazil, and the country needs to give it the importance it deserves,” she told Agência Brasil.
Further warnings
Ramos also mentioned the surge in organized crime and the need for policies aimed at local populations.
“We have to recognize that violence and organized crime have grown a lot in the region. There are still people living in Amazon cities demanding attention and opportunities to develop. At the same time, there are many threats facing traditional territories, indigenous lands, and conservation units. They must be tackled so that these areas—which symbolize the richest part of the Amazon in terms of biodiversity and tackling the climate crisis—get the attention they deserve,” she argued.
Another warning concerns the advance of major infrastructure projects in the region, such as the paving of the BR-319 highway, built by the military governments in the 1970s, and the Pacific highway. These initiatives, the ISA adviser argued, have an immense impact on deforestation in the region, as they can increase the circulation of illegal land grabbers and loggers and bring no concrete benefits to residents.
If projects like these continue—coupled with deforestation, illegal mining, and land grabbing for pasture—the Amazon could reach a point of no return, when the forest loses its ability to self-regenerate, due to deforestation, degradation, and global warming, leading to desertification.
“These projects will have an immense impact and are not part of a development strategy for the region. We need to think about economic projects that value the area and environmental services stemming from the sustainable use of the forest. That should strengthen the best that the Amazon currently has to offer, namely the conditions for dealing with the climate emergency. We won’t be able to keep it up unless we avert the so-called point of no return, which means halting deforestation and the loss of biodiversity.”
The coordinator pointed out that these projects were not designed alongside the people who live in the region.
“Economic projects lead to a number of complications for indigenous peoples. First, they are not thought out side by side with the people living in the Amazon. They come with an external view of development, which often doesn’t reflect the local reality. Then, there’s also mining, which is horrible. It destroys the forest, undermines social organization, and brings disease to indigenous territories. These mining and monoculture projects harm the forest,” Toya Manchineri remarked.
