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Amazon Forest Fire Tragedy – Don’t let the lungs of mother Earth burn!!!
The Amazon rainforest rarely burns, and the ecosystem is not adapted to deal with fire!
Rahul Jadhav, Director – Aarush Fire Systems Pvt. Ltd.
On the afternoon of August 19, 2019, the sky over São Paulo, the largest city of Brazil, was looking dark. Fire was spread across southern swath of the Amazon rain forest. They belch soot and smoke, covering those who live downwind with thick, smoky and dirty air. Dreadful images of the blackened sky began to pop on various social media pages, and soon the world was astonished by the fire blazes rampaging across the forest, famously called as “the lungs of the world”!!!
According to data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), about 76,000 fires were burning across the Brazilian Amazon at last official count, which is an increase of over 80 percent over the same time period last year. The devastating inferno is not only hurting precious wildlife but also destroying part of one the most important carbon storehouses left on the planet.
Figure 1 – Farmers and ranchers cut down patches of forest, allow the area to dry out, and then set the remains ablaze. Once the fallen trees have desiccated, they set them on fire, leaving behind an open swath of land ready for agricultural activity.
Reports have confirmed that the majority of the fires we’re seeing now are because of deforestation. Last year, Brazil elected a new president, Jair Bolsonaro, who purportedly pledged to increase agricultural activity in the Amazon and clear the way for more development in the region. Under the new dispensation, the forest protections and enforcement of illegal logging has allegedly weakened.
Brazil’s strong agriculture sector has ratcheted up pressure on forests. Agriculture has been the strongest performing sector of Brazil’s economy in recent years. So, along with deforestation, the geo-economics is also adding fuel to these fires!!! The ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing has opened a lucrative opportunity for Brazil to make a robust headway in Soybean exports. The US-China trade war has positioned Brazil well to replace the US as the global leader in soybean exports. The demand for soybeans has created pressure to rapidly clear forests and plant.
Amazon fires were a major item of discussion at the G-7 summit, with the ready assent of other Europeans governments. The Germans agreed that the Amazon fires are “frightening and threatening.” The other powerful G7 countries, including France and Canada reportedly criticised Brazil government’s response to massive fires ravaging the Amazon rainforest.
Mr Macron said the funds would be made available “immediately” – primarily to pay for more fire-fighting planes – and that France would also “offer concrete support with military in the region. While responding to these allegations, Mr Bolsonaro threatened to reject the aid money in a feud with Mr Macron that included personal insults. Meanwhile, Trump praised Mr Bolsonaro for “working very hard on the Amazon fires and in all respects doing a great job for the people of Brazil.”
According to the reports, the arrangements to fight with such massive fires are also not sufficient. The fire-fighters are reportedly not well equipped to douse these fires effectively. Hence, this is high time now for governments and administrations to establish effective and effective systems to fight with forest fires.
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