The Amazon comprises the Amazon River Basin, which is the most extensive on the planet and, for this reason, caused the Amazon fires to reverberate in 2019 throughout the world.
Of the 6,900,000 km² of Amazon area, 3,800,000 km² belong to Brazilian territory, precisely the location of the fires that occurred in the middle of this year. These took place at a time of political tension in the country and are also related to policies for expanding agribusiness and preserving indigenous peoples.
The outbreaks of fire spread across the legal Amazon, which covers nine states that are involved in deforestation to expand areas destined to agricultural activity. In the world, this event was seen as a great loss of biodiversity and immeasurable wealth, a fact that mobilized most of the world leaders.
Growing deforestation
Concomitantly with forest fires, in 2019 there was a significant increase in the deforested area of the Amazon, demonstrating its worst rate since 2015. Compared to the previous year, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon forest was 88% higher, according to the National Research Institute (INPE).
Despite its great natural diversity, the Legal Amazon has great social, economic and cultural diversity, which has directly influenced the process of differentiating the vegetation cover in the region.
In order to contribute to structured economic growth, ecological zoning is carried out. However, the occupation of land by squatters and illegal exploitation through extractive activities puts at risk all efforts to contain agricultural borders and maintain Amazonian biodiversity.
Consequently, many indigenous tribes have demanded that their spaces and way of life be respected. On the other hand, the government of the current administration was involved in controversies that did not favor the scenario of struggle for the environmental preservation of the Legal Amazon.
This was due to the interest that the agribusiness sector has in expanding and incorporating the natural areas of the Amazon for activities related to agriculture and livestock. However, environmental degradation in favor of economic development cannot be allowed.
The region deals with these problems due to the activities of mineral and vegetal extraction, opening of fields for agriculture, which caused the intensification of deforestation, causing other environmental problems, such as:
- erosion;
- soil depletion;
- water pollution;
- among others.
Deforestation records
The fires in the Amazon registered more than 59 thousand fires until August 2019, reaching the average of the last 15 years. In a global perspective for the preservation of natural resources and biomes, this event became the focus of the 45th G7 meeting and also generated news that became the main headlines in the world in the period.
The tragedy began on August 5, when the local newspaper in the Amazon region, Folha do Progresso, announced that ranchers and farmers in the city of Novo Progresso, in Pará, were promoting the so-called “Dia do Fogo”.
The fires to clear areas destined for cultivation occurred five days after the news. Soon, the fire spread and generated a large number of outbreaks that reached much of the Brazilian Amazon and also reached the Amazon rainforest belonging to other countries in South America.
It was clear the unbridled interest of farmers and explorers, who have the support of the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro. No measures were taken to stop the farmers’ initiative and, on the contrary, the government leader still criticized INPE, creating friction to mask and mitigate the alarming situation exposed by the Institute’s data.
Policy applied to the issue
On November 15, the newspaper El País reported on the meeting of leaders and environmental activists from around the world. People with strong deliberative influence such as:
- Elijah Mackenzie, from the United Kingdom;
- Indigenous leadership;
- Academic representatives; and
- People involved with scientific and technological development.
All were invited to discuss the theme and later participate in the Amazon Centro do Mundo event, held two days later.
The objective would be to create an alliance for the Amazon. In this way, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, showed empathy and commotion for the devastating scenery in the forest, which is considered a world heritage site.
The fires in the Amazon rainforest were considered one of the greatest ecological tragedies in recent years. For this reason, not only does the newspaper El País identify President Jair Bolsonaro as a threat, but also other media outlets in Brazil and other countries. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, presented himself as a defender of the Amazon through discussions between him and the Brazilian government.
President’s performance
Under pressure, Bolsonaro vetoed the action of burning in the Amazon for 60 days and mobilized the Armed Forces to fight fires. At this time, due to antipathy with the measures of the current Brazilian government, which seems to have suffered a setback, especially in relation to environmental issues, Germany is considering withdrawing its investments in the Amazon preservation fund.
In a scenario in which it is necessary to mobilize the maximum number of actions to fight and control the fires, the news becomes a source of revolt against the Brazilian president, which has damaged Brazil’s good relationship with other European countries.
This is because the intentions of the Brazilian government do not converge in the sense of punishing invaders and promoters of arson in the Amazon, and also because it has eased inspection measures in the region.
The president also attributes non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to arson, as well as accusing actor Leonardo DiCaprio of financing these institutions. DiCaprio replies to the Brazilian president that, despite judging these institutions to be worthy of aid for environmental preservation projects, he had not yet financed them.
Difficulties found
Brazil also faced the greatest difficulties in accessing fire control. Studies carried out by the Amazon Research Institute (IPAM) report the fragility of forest environments and mention that the Amazon forest has species diversity and a high density of vegetation that are resistant to fires.
However, the intensification of deforestation and the promotion of fires weaken the forest environments, causing the resistance of the forest to decrease. For this reason, the burning of the Amazon this year is directly linked to the activities of agribusiness and illegal exploitation.
These aspects can be reinforced by INPE data on deforestation, which increased by 30% between the months of August of the years 2018 and 2019.