Soon, there won’t be any Amazon left
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The Ministry of Environment of Brazil reported that the Latin American giant lost 790,000 hectares of forest
Throughout this year, it has been reported that the Amazon has been deforested in an alarming manner. The figures in the countries that share the lungs of the world are heartbreaking and highly worrisome.
Leer en español: La Amazonía se está acabando
In Colombia, for example, according to Semana, the Amazon rainforest has lost 6 million hectares in less than 30 years. This amount of deforestation is comparable with the territory of the department of Antioquia.
The situation is just as tragic in other nations such as Brazil, where recently the Ministry of Environment reported that 790,000 hectares were lost, a figure that had not been recorded for 10 years. In this case, the number of lost hectares resembles a large city like Bogotá.
The figures are clear and the causes are well established: illegal mining, the indiscriminate felling of trees for illicit crops and agriculture, the presence of criminal gangs, among others. However, it seems that state inefficiency is the biggest problem in this region.
At the pace we are going to, the jungle will cease to exist as we know it and we will have lost one of the most important natural sanctuaries for our survival. According to Reuters, of the 15,000 species found in the Amazon, 57% of the tree species in this region of the world are threatened.
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Despite great efforts to establish protected areas and delimit the exploitation of resources in this area, the measures are not enough. Rafael Salomão, author of an investigation that studied the current situation of the jungle, warns that protected areas do not have budgets or qualified personnel to direct them so that their work can be efficient.
It seems that the destiny of this region, so vital and important for the world, was in the hands of the less capable and the criminals. The press is dedicated to denouncing that the felling is increasing, but there is no state response or effective measures to counteract the situation.
Those who are aware of the importance of the Amazon, as indigenous groups, have take the flags of this cause and through initiatives seek to protect the mother jungle. On November 22, the Interreligious Initiative on Tropical Forests in Colombia was launched. This alliance highlights the shared moral commitment to stop the destruction of the Amazon, especially in Colombia.
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After the signing of the Peace Agreement, logging and deforestation have increased. So it is vital that we all commit to fight for the safeguarding of the jungle. This alliance hopes to work through faith to protect the tropical forests and the people who inhabit them.
Hopefully it is not too late when the Paris Agreement comes IGNORE INTO force or when we finally realize that the wealth and survival of the world is not to exploit natural resources but to protect that which gives us life.
LatinAmerican Post | Marcela Peñaloza
Translated from "La Amazonía se está acabando"
