Can Amazon Countries Save the Rain Forest?
Date of Publication
1-1-2023 12:00 AM
Security Theme
Environmental Security
Keywords
Illegal Logging, Climate change mitigation, Forest fires, Indigenous groups, Deforestation
Description
Spanning nearly 2.3 million square miles (6 million square kilometers) across eight South American countries, the Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest tropical forest. This vast ecosystem, which makes up most of the Amazon River Basin, is one of the most biodiverse places on earth and the home of tens of millions of people, including some four hundred Indigenous groups. It also plays a critical role in mitigating climate change by regulating water and carbon cycles and absorbing greenhouse gas emissions. But the health of the Amazon has declined drastically over the last several decades. In that time, urbanization, illegal logging and mining, commodity agriculture, oil and gas development, and devastating forest fires have destroyed nearly one-fifth of the rain forest. The extent of the deforestation has alarmed scientists and sparked international calls for governments in the region to crack down on unchecked development and strengthen environmental protections. But countries have varied in their responses, and experts say more needs to be done to preserve the Amazon.
Can Amazon Countries Save the Rain Forest?
Spanning nearly 2.3 million square miles (6 million square kilometers) across eight South American countries, the Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest tropical forest. This vast ecosystem, which makes up most of the Amazon River Basin, is one of the most biodiverse places on earth and the home of tens of millions of people, including some four hundred Indigenous groups. It also plays a critical role in mitigating climate change by regulating water and carbon cycles and absorbing greenhouse gas emissions. But the health of the Amazon has declined drastically over the last several decades. In that time, urbanization, illegal logging and mining, commodity agriculture, oil and gas development, and devastating forest fires have destroyed nearly one-fifth of the rain forest. The extent of the deforestation has alarmed scientists and sparked international calls for governments in the region to crack down on unchecked development and strengthen environmental protections. But countries have varied in their responses, and experts say more needs to be done to preserve the Amazon.
