It has recently been reported by Brazil’s space agency (INPE) that the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has reached a new high. Deforestation of the Amazon, which is mostly illegal, takes place in order to make space for meat production or production of soya and other crops. With the decline of biodiversity in one of the largest rainforests on the planet, this presents a serious threat to the planet’s sustainability and its potential to store carbon emissions.
Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has not helped the situation by promoting development within the rainforest and cut funding to federal agencies which issue fines to those breaking environmental law.
In 2019, the Amazon rainforest was also subject to mass burning for the likes of those wanting to profit from the land which was left behind. As one of the planet’s largest reserves of biodiversity, indigenous communities and carbon storage it is inevitable that climate change will worsen with more deforestation occurring.
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