Many species of creatures have lost their habitats due to fires and deforestation in the Amazon

In a study recently published in the journal Nature, US and Chinese researchers found that up to 85% of species are listed as threatened by the Union for Conservation of Nature. internationally for habitat loss to wildfires and deforestation since 2001. Overall, fires have destroyed the habitat of two-thirds of the species in the river basin. Amazon.

Xiao Feng, a Florida State University geographer who is one of the lead authors of the paper, said: “The Amazon ecosystem is not adapted to fire, but deforestation and fires have been and continue to impact biodiversity here. The document shows that a key point is when the Amazon has lost the most part of its forest. determined, the whole ecosystem will change to a different type”.

Philip Fearnside, an ecologist at Brazil’s National Institute of Research in Amazonia (INPA), also confirmed that the situation in the Amazon is definitely getting worse with deforestation and forest degradation increasing. due to activities such as logging and forest fires.

He shared: “Almost all fires are man-made. Occasionally, it can be started by lightning, but it’s not a coniferous forest like those in North America, where lightning is a common cause. And it’s not just illegal deforestation, there’s also legal deforestation and legal logging.”.

Deforestation in the Amazon has become increasingly serious in recent years (Source: Getty Images)

At the COP26 climate summit in November 2021, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed an international pledge to end deforestation by 2030.

However, deforestation has been increasing in Brazil under Bolsonaro’s rule. He was controversial during his presidency for encouraging activities like mining and farming in the Amazon. He was also criticized for trying to allow the passage of legislation allowing commercial development on protected land.

It is because of burning and deforestation that has led to many serious consequences in the Amazon. And most of it is caused by the lack of human consciousness. Amazon is considered as the green lung of the world, however, in recent studies in the journal Nature Climate Change in 2021, it shows that the amount of carbon it emits is nearly 20% higher than the amount it absorbs. In addition, many of these creatures have had their habitat destroyed by fires and illegal deforestation.

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