Environment WWF: Fires in Brazil are destroying untouched rainforest
The devastating forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon are increasingly destroying untouched rainforest. 53 percent of the fires registered in the region in August were concentrated in so-called primary forest, according to the environmental protection organization WWF.
14.09.2024, 04:37
SDA
Only 13 percent of the fires occurred in recently deforested areas. "Previously untouched rainforest is being deliberately set on fire," said WWF Latin America expert Roberto Maldonado on the occasion of Tropical Forest Day on Saturday. "The fires are being used to illegally develop land. This is a billion-dollar business."
Drought complicates the situation
The worst fires in almost 20 years are currently raging in the Brazilian Amazon region. Almost 88,000 fires have been recorded in the region since the beginning of the year, according to data from the Institute for Space Research (Inpe), which is responsible for satellite monitoring. This was the highest figure for the period up to mid-September since 2005. The situation this year has been exacerbated by a severe drought.
According to the WWF, around 20 percent of the original rainforest has already been destroyed. Researchers expect that a tipping point will be reached in the region when 25 percent of the forest has been destroyed. This could then lead to severe and in some cases unstoppable and irreversible changes in the ecosystem. Because the rainforest in the Amazon region binds immense amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2, it is also of great importance for the global climate.
