Alert! Over Ten Thousand Species at Risk of Extinction due to Destruction of Amazon Rainforest

Amazon Rainforests plays crucial role in the regulation of  oxygen and carbon cycles as it generates roughly 6 percent of the world's oxygen and has long been considered to act as a carbon sink. Recently, a landmark scientific report, produced by the Science Panel for the Amazon not only highlights its crucial role in Global Climate but also brings together research on the globe's largest rainforest from 200 scientists from across the globe.

Deforestation is widely considered as a significant contributor to the climate change, responsible for about 10% to 13% of global CO2 emissions. In Brazil, these emissions are mainly associated with deforestation resulting from the conversion of tropical rain forests into agricultural uses. 

Recent Findings: 

Over 10,000 species of animals and plants are at danger of extinction and it is due to the large scale destruction of the Amazon rainforest, almost 35% of area has deforested, as per the draft of a landmark scientific report published on Wednesday.

A 33-chapter report has published by Science Panel for the Amazon that brings together research on the world’s largest rainforest from 200 scientists from across the world. It is the most comprehensive assessment of the state of the forest to date and both clarify the vital role the Amazon plays in global climate and the dangerous risks it is facing right now.

Considering the current situation, the report further said," Cutting deforestation and forest degradation to zero in less than a decade “is critical". Moreover, this report is also calling for massive restoration of already destroyed areas.

As per the report, the soil and vegetation of the Amazon forest hold approximately 200 billion tonnes of carbon, which is more than five times the whole world’s annual CO2 emissions.

Moreover, the continuous destruction caused by human interference in the Amazon puts more than 8000 endemic plants and 2300 animals at high risk of extinction, the report added.

Humans are facing potentially irreversible and catastrophic risks due to multiple crises, including climate change and biodiversity decline, said University of Brasilia professor Mercedes Bustamante in a statement published by the SPA.

"There is a narrow window of opportunity to change this trajectory,” Bustamante said.“The fate of Amazon is central to the solution to the global crises.”

Situation in Brazil:

In case of Brazil, deforestation has jumped since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took charge of office in 2019, reaching a twelve-year high previous year and drawing international attention from foreign governments and the public.

Bolsonaro has permitted mining and agriculture activities in the protected areas of the Amazon and this has relieved environmental enforcement agencies, which environmentalists and scientists say has directly resulted in the rising destruction.

According to the report, 18% of its original size, the Amazon basin has already been deforested, mostly for agriculture and illegal timber. Another 17% has been degraded.

This kind of large scale destruction may loosen the very ability of the rainforest to function effectively as a carbon sink, with potentially disturbing results for the global climate change.