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  • The Amazon is one of Earth's greatest natural treasures,

  • but this year it has been ravaged by a record number of fires.

  • It has led to calls for action from around the world,

  • with much finger-pointing over whator whois to blame.

  • More than 30,000 forest fires have been detected in the Amazon in August alone.

  • Over the course of the year, the number of fire outbreaks soared to its highest level since records began in 2013.

  • It has triggered a wave of global panic, with world leaders, environmental groups and celebrities

  • all calling for an urgent international response.

  • The flames have even been visible from space.

  • NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station have observed plumes of dark smoke

  • billowing out of the rainforest.

  • Strong winds have pushed the smoke as far as 1,700 miles away,

  • causing a daytime blackout in Brazil's largest city of Sao Paolo.

  • Sometimes referred to as thelungs of the world,”

  • the Amazon has captured people's imagination like few other places on Earth.

  • To understand why, we first need to think about its history.

  • For many, many years, the Amazon has been a source of fascination for people all over the world.

  • Teeming with biodiversity, the Amazon rainforest is part of the Amazon biome,

  • which spans around 2.6 million square miles, or twice the size of India.

  • Unparalleled in scale, the Amazon biome cuts across nine countries in South America,

  • with Brazil making up more than half.

  • In the 1960s, the Brazilian government, which was then led by military rulers,

  • decided it was time to prioritize economic development,

  • turning the world's largest tropical rainforest into an economic engine for the country.

  • This included bulldozing several roads through the Amazon, clearing the land for large-scale

  • agriculture and allowing settlers to move into lightly inhabited areas.

  • In doing so, Brazil's military dictatorship destroyed the rainforest at an astonishing speed.

  • The international response was relatively muted at first.

  • But as people started to realize the extent of the damage that was being done,

  • a flurry of anti-deforestation campaigns followed.

  • That international pressure eventually worked. In the early millennium, Brazil began cracking down

  • on forest destruction, implementing policies designed to dramatically prevent deforestation,

  • an issue long seen as a cornerstone of global climate policy.

  • The measures were described by environmentalists as a “big success,”

  • with more protected areas and reserves designated to indigenous people.

  • At the same time, Brazil's agricultural production continued to increase as well.

  • Climate scientists say this proves development and conservation can go hand and hand.

  • That began to change to in 2019,

  • when a new government coincided with a sharp increase in deforestation rates.

  • So, what is it that is causing the Amazon to burn?

  • It all boils down to money.

  • Many of the Amazon's forest fires are set on purpose.

  • After loggers are done chopping down trees and harvesting the lumber,

  • the remaining vegetation is usually burned.

  • This is done by people hoping to make a profit off the land, by selling it to farmers and ranchers.

  • And with the Amazon several months into its dry season,

  • all it takes is a single spark for a fire to blaze out of control.

  • Environmental activists believe those deliberately setting fires

  • have been emboldened by Brazil's contentious leader, Jair Bolsonaro.

  • They say it is unsurprising that Bolsonaro's vision for more economic development in the Amazon

  • has coincided with surging deforestation in recent monthspointing to data from

  • Brazil's own space institute, which shows a Manhattan-sized area was lost every day in July.

  • In a repeat of history, these actions in the Amazon have sparked international outrage,

  • much to Bolsonaro's annoyance.

  • So, why then is Brazil's government effectively telling the rest of the world to mind its own business?

  • Since coming to power, Brazil's president has repeatedly said he believes South America's

  • largest country should open the Amazon up to business interests.

  • He sees the protected lands as a hindrance to economic growth.

  • The long-time climate skeptic not only angrily dismissed the chorus of international concern

  • over the Amazon's forest fires, he also rejected proposals of foreign aid.

  • Bolsonaro believes it is only for Brazil and its neighbors to debate and make decisions about the Amazon.

  • He even told a group of the world's most powerful leaders that their plans to discuss the forest fires

  • without the participation of any Amazonian countries, evoked a “misplaced colonial mindset.”

  • However, despite not wanting other countries to interfere, he has admitted that Brazil

  • does not have the resources it needs to fight the fires in an area as large as the Amazon.

  • With little sign of the forest fires dying down any time soon, a key question for many is,

  • what does this all mean when it comes to climate change?

  • The United Nations has recognized the intensifying climate crisis asthe defining issue of our time,”

  • with a recent report calling the phenomenonthe greatest challenge to sustainable development.”

  • The Amazon's role in absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen

  • makes it a critical defence mechanism in helping to slow the pace of global warming.

  • When forests burn, carbon is released in the form of CO2, which adds to levels in the atmosphere.

  • On top of that, the loss of trees in the Amazon reduces the ability of the forest as a whole to absorb carbon.

  • Scientists are unsure exactly how the decline of the Amazon could impact the global climate.

  • But, at the very least, rainfall patterns across North America, Europe and Africa are likely to increase.

  • Thanks for watching. Don't forget to subscribe.

  • And do let us know if there are any other topics you think we should be covering.

  • See you next time.

The Amazon is one of Earth's greatest natural treasures,

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亞馬遜為什麼會燃燒?| CNBC解讀 (Why is the Amazon burning? | CNBC Explains)

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    楊皓荃 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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