About 38 000 km2 of primary forest were destroyed last year, or the equivalent of one football field every six seconds.
vast expanses Of virgin forests went up in smoke in 2019, equivalent to the size of Switzerland, with Brazil representing more than one-third of these losses, according to a study published on Tuesday.
the democratic Republic of The Congo, and Indonesia rank second and third positions for the loss of these forests destroyed to make way for farming or plantations, according to the annual report of Global Forest Watch, based on satellite data.
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Your support is essential. Subscribe for $ 1 support UsAbout 38 000 km2 have been destroyed in the last year, or the equivalent of one football field every six seconds, which is 2019, the third year of the most devastating primary forests in two decades.
"We are concerned that the loss rate is so high, in spite of all the efforts made by different countries and companies to reduce deforestation", if alarm Mikaela Weisse, who coordinates the Global Forest Watch for the american think-tank World Resources Institute (WRI).
new "hot spots" of deforestation
The total area of tropical forests destroyed by fire and bulldozers around the world in 2019 has been, in fact, three times more important, but the primary forest are particularly valuable. They are home to a great diversity of species on Earth and store huge quantities of CO2 which contributes to global warming once released.
"It will take decades, even centuries for these forests to return to their original state", with the assumption that the lands they were directed to be left quiet, says Mikaela Weisse to the AFP. The forest fires that have ravaged a part of Brazil last year have made headlines, but they are not the main cause of deforestation, according to satellite data.
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many new "hot spots" of deforestation appeared. In the State of Para, for example, they correspond to seizures of illegal land in the indigenous reserve of the Trincheira/Bacaja. And this took place before the government proposes new legislation softening the mining, oil or gas development in these protected areas, as well as intensive agriculture. The president of the brazilian Jair Bolsonaro has given the green light in February of this bill.
To Frances Seymour, WRI, this is not only unfair to the people living in these forests in Brazil, but also a sign of poor management.
"We know that deforestation is lower in indigenous territories", she explains. "A growing number of clues suggest that the legal recognition of indigenous land rights provides a better protection of the forest."
The Covid-19, possible aggravating factor
The epidemic of Covid-19 could make things worse, not only in Brazil, particularly affected, but wherever this can weaken the application that is already very low-of the powers of the nations living in tropical forests. "Around the world, we have heard on higher levels of logging, mining, and illegal poaching," said Frances Seymour.
Bolivia has experienced a loss of forests without precedent in 2019, 80% more than the previous record year, due to fires in primary forests and surrounding, due to the breeding and the culture of the soybean primarily.
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Indonesia, however, experienced a decline of 5% of the total area of forests destroyed, 3240 km2, for the third consecutive year, an area nearly three times less important that in 2016, the peak year. "Indonesia has been one of the few positive points in the data for tropical deforestation in recent years", noted recently Frances Seymour in a blog post. Tropical ecosystems are sensitive to exploitation and climate change.
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Brazil: the earthquake Bolsonaro
Resignations of ministers, insults, blunders... Jair Bolsonaro, the farce to the tragedy, "The impression to be at war" : in Rio de Janeiro, the difficult fight against the Covid-19 Municipal : the second round will take place in June or in January 2021, said Edouard PhilippeThe other countries that have experienced the largest loss of primary forest include Peru, Malaysia, Colombia, Laos, Mexico and Cambodia.
Date Of Update: 04 June 2020, 09:58
