The Amazon debate rolls on
It’s a cliche really, the impact of the state of the Amazon forest on mother earth’s climatic horoscope. Yet the lengths to which governments go to put the burning issue under the mat defies logic of any degree.
A recent report by environmentalists showcased at the UN Climate conference at Bali that climate change coupled with deforestation could fatally impair nearly 60 percent of the evergreen forest by 2030 has still not put the Brazilian Government on action mode. Instead the govt has come out with a counter that there has been a sharp drop in the rate of deforestation.
Lets decipher the facts as they stand.
The key points of the green brigade is as follows.
- An important component of the world’s cooling mechanism will be lost
- One fifth of the world’s fresh water under threat
- 30 percent of the world’s flora and fauna face extinction, not to mention the species not discovered
- The world’s largest “carbon sinks” or absorber of CO2 will be destroyed
- Deforestation releases CO2 into the atmosphere (55.5 billion to 96.9 billion by 2030) - not a nice scenario to envision
- Logging, livestock expansion and drought will clear 55 percent of the rain forest
- Rainfall predicted to decline by 10 percent
- A small rise in temperature of 3.6 degrees will tip the environmental balance leading to floods, droughts, rising sea levels, heat waves and diseases
The Brazilian Governments pooh pooh on the issues is spelt out below.
- Predictions on the Amazon’s longevity to be taken with a pinch of salt considering its complexity and size
- Enviroment ministry says rate of deforestation is down by 20 percent between August 2006 and July 2007
- 4,333 square miles lost this year compared to 5,420 square miles last year.
- Increased enforcement of environmental regulations.
- Low prices of soyabeans resuling in lesser forest areas cleared for cultivation.
As arguments and counters fly fast and thick, it cannot discount the fact that we are truly on the way to environmental imbalance and it’s time that Governments practise continual improvement to the processes in place. The Amazon needs an Amazon effort, a comprehensive shift to sustainable logging processes, better land use policies and more funding to increase forest cover. It is time the rich countries gave a hand by reducing emissions that can mar the overall effort. Simply put it needs a more concerted effort.
Chew on more here. And some more prespective here.
What do you think? Have your say