Hi guys! Hope mid-terms went well for everyone! Today we’ll be talking about the Amazon rainforest and how it has been impacted by COVID-19.
You may recall, late last year, social media was flooded with news of forest fires in the Amazon. (Check out this video by MATT ‘n’ SEB on Youtube for a recap on the crisis)
Recently, I realised that I hadn’t seen much news about the Amazon. I naturally assumed this was because the Amazon’s deforestation issue had improved amidst the pandemic and thus the news had died down. I was shocked to find out that in reality, this was far from the truth. Instead, it was reported that deforestation had increased. Specifically, data collected has shown that Amazonian deforestation rose by almost two-thirds from last year. Even worse, experts are expecting more fires in the rainforest than last year as well.
The increase in deforestation came as a surprise to me. I say this because I had expected COVID-19, as devastating and widespread as it is, to have been a major disruption, even to illegal logging. But upon further reading, I found out that COVID-19 contributed to this rise in deforestation.
Firstly, the lockdown in Brazil and weaker law enforcement has encouraged illegal loggers to be more aggressive. The lack of adequate law enforcement stems from the government shifting its resources to fight the pandemic and challenges posed by social distancing measures. Secondly, even those who weren’t illegal loggers before have faced loss of incomes because of COVID-19 and were forced to turn to illegal logging. (If you have read my first post ‘Wildlife Conservation’, you would probably find the aforementioned reasons familiar. Interestingly enough, these are the same reasons for increased poaching during the pandemic.)
As someone who has always been fascinated by the Amazon rainforest, I find it a great pity that such a treasure is being destroyed. The Amazon was already threatened by deforestation before the pandemic and it is sad to see that COVID-19 has only exacerbated this issue.
Next week we’ll be discussing the push back on environmental laws caused by COVID-19, stay tuned!
Hi Rachel,
A study out a few days ago suggests that the Amazon rainforest is approaching a tipping point we won’t be able to step back from.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18728-7
jc
Hi Dr Coleman!
Thanks for sharing this article 🙂 It was an interesting read although I have to admit, I did find it a little difficult to understand. I hope I have interpreted it correctly but it was particularly interesting to learn that, under a stable climate, forests would be able to recover from deforestation thanks to the forest-rainfall feedback. It was then unfortunate to learn that global climate change sort of negates this and instead is pushing the Amazon to a tipping point 🙁
Rachel
Here’s an article written about the study that may be a bit more engaging (maybe I should’ve suggested that instead).
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/23/amazon-rainforest-close-to-irreversible-tipping-point
Hi Dr Coleman,
I gave the article a read and it was really helpful 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
It is disheartening to hear that the Amazon isn’t doing too well now. I guess when it comes to the environment is is not necessarily “no news is good news”.
This (and your first) post really underscores the importance of ensuring that there are viable alternatives to environmentally harmful activities in non-crisis times.
Do you think any “active” good for the environment can come out of crises other than due to humans reducing their activities as seen in your #natureishealing post? I was thinking something along the lines of the Civilian Conservation Corps that arose as a way to combat unemployment during the Great Depression (https://treesource.org/news/lands/ccc-tree-planting/).
Hi Ee Kin,
Thanks for your comment! I read the article you mentioned and I must say, it was a really interesting read. Thanks for sharing 🙂
To answer your question, I suppose that some “active” good(if I’m interpreting this correctly) has come out of this pandemic. Eg the reduction of human activities(as you mentioned), reduced fishing pressure and reduced air pollution(coming soon!). However the issue with these positives is that they’re likely to be short lived and will disappear once the pandemic ends and economic activity surges to pre-COVID levels. That being said, I think the way governments and organisations react to COVID’s environmental impacts is a huge factor in whether any good will come out of this pandemic. For example, the “Looking ahead” section in this article(https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/brazils-land-grabbers-law-threatens-amazonia-commentary/) talks about how Conservation International has begun working with governments to help provide people in rural areas with steady incomes. This is with the aim to reduce poaching and illegal logging.
Rachel