. Earth Science News .
WOOD PILE
G7 pledges millions to fight Amazon fires
by Staff Writers
Biarritz, France (AFP) Aug 26, 2019

Stability of Earth's climate depends on Amazonia
Paris (AFP) Aug 26, 2019 - The Amazon basin cradles the largest rainforest in the world, and plays an essential role in regulating regional and even global climates.

Here are some facts about the region:

- Deforestation -

Continued destruction of its tropical forests -- measured in tens of thousands of square kilometres per year -- could transform much of the Amazon into dry savannah, with massive impacts on climate and biodiversity worldwide, experts warn.

Covering more than five million square kilometres (two million square miles), the Amazon's dense tropical canopy store a huge amount of carbon, roughly equivalent to 10 times the amount humanity discharges into the atmosphere every year.

About 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has disappeared over the last half-century.

Vast tracts of tree cover have been cleared, mostly for the production of lumber, soy, palm oil, biofuels or beef.

- Carbon sink -

When a tree is cut, its stored carbon will leak into the atmosphere gradually; when it is burned, the CO2 escapes all at once. Either way, it contributes to global warming.

At the same time, global forests -- and especially the tropics -- soak up 25 to 30 percent of the carbon dioxide that humanity spews into the atmosphere. (Oceans absorb another 20 percent.)

Without these CO2 "sinks", Earth's surface temperature would already be hotter, and the risk of runaway global warming that much higher.

Of the approximately 160,000 km2 of tropical tree cover lost worldwide in 2017, 35 percent was in the Amazon, and more than a quarter in Brazil, according to the World Resources Institute (WRI), an environmental policy think tank.

"The world's tropical forests are now in the emergency room," Frances Seymour, a distinguished senior fellow at the WRI, told AFP earlier this year.

"The health of the planet is at stake. With every hectare lost, we are that much closer to the scary scenario of runaway climate change."

- 'Lungs of the Earth?' -

Besides Brazil, seven nations straddle the Amazon basin: Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and the overseas territory of French Guiana.

In addition to capturing and storing carbon, forests also affect wind speed, rainfall patterns and the mix of chemicals in the atmosphere.

Amazonia is often described as the "lungs of the planet" and as producing a significant percentage world's oxygen, but this is inaccurate.

"There are numerous reasons to be worried about recent spikes in Amazonian deforestation -- carbon, climate, water, biodiversity and people," noted environmental scientist Jonathan Foley, executive director of Project Drawdown.

"But oxygen, thank God, is not an issue we need to worry about."

- Fire season -

The huge number of fires across southeastern Brazil that have jolted world leaders into an emergency response have, in fact, become typical at this time of year over the last several decades.

The nearly 150,000 fires in Brazil so far in 2019 is fewer than in 2016. From 2002 to 2010, there were five years when the number of August fires topped 200,000.

The height of the "fire season" is September, when the number spikes even higher.

"It appears that many of the fires in the Amazon are happening on land that was previously deforested," Mikaela Weisse and Sarah Ruiz of Global Forest Watch, based in Washington DC noted in a blog post this week.

The Amazon is also home to one of Earth's most concentrated and extensive collections of biological diversity, including hundreds of plants used in traditional and modern medicines.

The G7 will give $20 million (18 million euros) to send firefighting planes to tackle the blazes engulfing parts of the Amazon, the presidents of France and Chile said Monday.

"We must respond to the call of the forest which is burning today in the Amazon," France's Emmanuel Macron said as President Sebastian Pinera of Chile, a guest of the G7, underlined that "countries of the Amazon are in dire need of fire brigades and water bomber planes."

Nearly 80,000 forest fires have been detected in Brazil since the beginning of the year -- just over half of them in the massive Amazon basin.

Macron had declared the situation an "international crisis" and made it a priority of the summit of the G7, which comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

G7 leaders gathered in Biarritz held talks on the many environmental challenges facing planet Earth, with a focus on the record number of fires destroying swathes of the Amazon.

Macron has threatened to block a huge new trade deal between the EU and Latin America unless Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a climate change sceptic, takes serious steps to protect the fast-shrinking forest from logging and mining.

Bolsonaro lashed out at the French leader over his criticism and suggested NGOs could be setting the fires to embarrass him -- without giving any evidence to back the claim.

But at the weekend, he finally caved in to international pressure to save a region crucial for maintaining a stable global climate, deploying two aircraft to douse fires and authorising the army to help tackle the blazes.

- 'Universal heritage' -

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his country would send a water bomber plane to fight the Amazon blazes and contribute some $15 million to the effort.

The G7 also agreed to support a reforestation plan to be unveiled in September, the leaders said.

Brazil would have to agree to any reforestation plan, as would indigenous communities living in the world's biggest rainforest.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said new planting was needed "to preserve this universal heritage, which is absolutely essential for the well-being of the world's population."

He said the issue would be discussed during the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Macron told France 2 it was hoped "at least 30 million" dollars could be raised for the project.

On Monday evening, the French leader met Brazilian indigenous chief Raoni Metuktire, who said he had asked Macron to "help us preserve our lands."

"The forests and lands of Brazil help the entire planet live," said the chief, an advocate for indigenous rights.

Greenpeace executive director Jennifer Morgan welcomed the G7 aid, but said the club must also "stop fuelling the destruction of the Amazon through the import of agricultural products associated with deforestation and soil degradation."

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised 10 million pounds ($12 million) for Amazon reforestation projects, while luxury fashion giant LVMH pledged 10 million euros.

African forest fires in spotlight after Amazon outcry
Kinshasa (AFP) Aug 26, 2019 - In NASA satellite images, forest fires in central Africa appear to burn alarmingly like a red chain from Gabon to Angola similar to the blazes in Brazil's Amazon that sparked global outcry.

At the G7 summit this week, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted about the central Africa fires and said nations were examining a similar initiative to the one proposed to combat Brazil's blazes.

G7 nations have pledged $20 million on the Amazon, mainly on fire-fighting aircraft.

Macron's concern may be legitimate, but experts say central Africa's rainforest fires are often more seasonal and linked to traditional seasonal farming methods.

No doubt the region is key for the climate: The Congo Basin forest is commonly referred to as the "second green lung" of the planet after the Amazon.

The forests cover an area of 3.3 million square kilometres in several countries, including about a third in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the rest in Gabon, Congo, Cameroon and Central Africa.

Just like the Amazon, the forests of the Congo Basin absorb tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in trees and peat marshes - seen by experts as a key way to combat climate change. They are also sanctuaries for endangered species.

But most of the fires shown on the NASA maps of Africa are outside sensitive rainforest areas, analysts say, and drawing comparisons to the Amazon is also complex.

"The question now is to what extent we can compare," said Philippe Verbelen, a Greenpeace forest campaigner working on the Congo Basin.

"Fire is quite a regular thing in Africa. It's part of a cycle, people in the dry season set fire to bush rather than to dense, moist rainforest."

Guillaume Lescuyer, a central African expert at the French agricultural research and development centre CIRAD, also said the fires seen in NASA images were mostly burning outside the rain forest.

Angola's government also urged caution, saying swift comparisons to the Amazon may lead to "misinformation of more reckless minds".

The fires were usual at the end of the dry season, the Angolan ministry of environment said.

"It happens at this time of the year, in many parts of our country, and fires are caused by farmers with the land in its preparation phase, because of the proximity of the rainy season," it said.

- Different risks -

Though less publicised than the Amazon, the Congo Basin forests still face dangers.

"The forest burns in Africa but not for the same causes," said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, an ambassador and climate negotiator for the DR Congo.

"In the Amazon, the forest burns mainly because of drought and climate change, but in central Africa, it is mainly due to agricultural techniques."

Many farmers use slash-and-burn farming to clear forest. In DR Congo, only nine percent of the population has access to electricity and many people use wood for cooking and energy.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has warned the rainforests are threatened if the country does not improve its hydro-electric capacity.

Deforestation is also a risk in Gabon and parts of the DR Congo, as well as damage from mining and oil projects.

Some countries are now implementing stricter environmental policies. Gabon, for example, has declared 13 national parks that make up 11 percent of its national territory.

DR Congo has declared a moratorium on new industrial logging licences but that has not stopped artisanal cutting, which industrial loggers can exploit.

"We need to protect the forests that are still largely intact and stop degradation," said Greenpeace's Verbelen. "The forests that are still intact remain an important buffer for future climate change."


Related Links
Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


WOOD PILE
Connected forest networks on oil palm plantations key to protecting endangered species
York UK (SPX) Aug 23, 2019
Connected areas of high-quality forest running through oil palm plantations could help support increased levels of biodiversity, new research suggests. There is growing pressure to reduce the consumption of palm oil due to concerns over deforestation. However, the research team, led by the University of York, says promoting more sustainable palm oil is a better alternative. For palm oil to be certified as sustainable, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) requires oil palm growers to ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WOOD PILE
HBO's 'Chernobyl' sparks tours, stokes fears in Lithuania

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre: Washington's all-powerful gun man

Dutch families join 'people's farm' to counter climate change

Scores missing after SW China hit by mudslides

WOOD PILE
In praise of the big pixel: Gaming is having a retro moment

Rare earths are contested ground between US and China

Ecuador city recycling plastic bottles for bus tickets

Data rate increase on the International Space Station supports future exploration

WOOD PILE
Taiwan warns Pacific islands of China's 'empty promises' on aid

Florida Aquarium reproduces Atlantic coral in lab for first time

Study reveals profound patterns in globally important algae

Water pollution can reduce economic growth by a third: World Bank

WOOD PILE
Stardust found in Antarctic snow, scientists say

Five things to know about Greenland

Greenland row is Trump positioning for Arctic battle: expert

Greenland isn't for sale but it is increasingly valuable

WOOD PILE
Hundreds of Pyrenees livestock farmers protest predator bears

UK supermarkets test plastic-free zones

Global appetite for beef, soy fuels Amazon fires

French mayor in court after banning pesticide use near homes

WOOD PILE
Detecting hydrothermal vents in volcanic lakes

Sudan flood death toll reaches 62: state media

Stanford researchers explain earthquakes we can't feel

Powerful Japan storm turns deadly, snarls holiday travel

WOOD PILE
Toll from attack on Burkina military base rises to 24

Nigeria arrests kidnapper at centre of police, army shooting row

Three killed in Chad police station attack

Uganda, Zambia deny Huawei helped spy on political opponents

WOOD PILE
Five decades post-Woodstock, extracting legacy from myth

Roughly half of all Neanderthals suffered from 'swimmer's ear'

Human genetic diversity of South America reveals complex history of Amazonia

How humans and chimpanzees travel towards a goal in rainforests









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.