In just 4 decades
Rainforest has shrunk by 88 million hectares
According to a study, the Amazon rainforest has shrunk by the size of Germany and France over the past four decades. In Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana, 88 million hectares of rainforest have disappeared.
Researchers report an "accelerated transformation" of the Amazon region with an "alarming increase" in the use of land previously covered by forest for mining, agriculture or livestock farming.
"Numerous ecosystems have disappeared to make way for vast pastures, soy fields or other monocultures, or they have been turned into craters for gold mining," says the study by RAISG, an association of scientists and non-governmental organizations.
The loss of the forest releases more carbon into the atmosphere, disrupting an entire ecosystem that regulates the climate and the water cycle, which has a clear impact on temperatures.
Sandra Ríos Cáceres
"Entire ecosystem disrupted"
"The loss of the forest releases more carbon into the atmosphere, disrupting an entire ecosystem," said Peruvian scientist Sandra Ríos Cáceres, who was involved in the study. The loss of vegetation in the Amazon region is directly linked to the severe drought and forest fires affecting several South American countries.
The researchers from the World Weather Attribution Network explained that climate change is increasing the risk and severity of fires in the wetlands of the Amazon and Pantanal, which release "massive amounts" of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
47 million people at risk
The drought has caused the level of some Amazon rivers to fall to their lowest levels in decades (see video above), threatening the way of life of around 47 million people who live along their banks. The drought has caused fires to spread in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, often set to clear farmland.
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