CLIMATE-FUELLED FIRES AND CORRUPTION

BROOKE SMITH

Image credit: skeeze, pixabay.com

2020 has seen a mass of devastating wildfires all around the globe. From the Australian bushfires in January, to the Western States of America in August and everywhere in between.

One country that has particularly been affected, however, is Brazil. In the first seven months of 2020 alone, more than 13,000sq km of the Amazon rainforest (of which 60% is found in Brazil) was burned due to the forests’ potential to become land for agriculture- natural woodland is desired by many farmers to be cleared for this purpose, causing forest fires. These fires worsened as a result of the Amazon being exceptionally dry this year, a consequence of climate change warming the north Atlantic Ocean, meaning that there has been less rainfall. This is more than eight times the size of London in rainforest that will never fully recover.

Brazil’s Pantanal Wetlands, the largest tropical wetland in the world, are also in flames. Well-known for its iconic wildlife, climate change and underestimating its consequences, despite the evidence being apparent. The President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is treating this crisis as a joke- quite literally. Footage from a meeting with the President and his ministers has shown these grown men laughing when asked about the Pantanal fires. As well as this blatant ignorance, Jair Bolsonaro has also attempted to blame the fires on the Indigenous people and Backwoodsmen who rely on the Amazon and Pantanal for survival, despite the evidence showing that this is not true.

Furthermore, the President of one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world, Donald Trump, “doesn’t believe” in climate change. It seems as though we are going backwards, as he also announced in the wetlands are home to around 463 2017 that the U.S. will be withdrawing bird species including the biggest from the Paris Agreement. The main species of parrot- the Hyacinth Macaw aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep (these are the blue parrots from the ‘Rio’ global temperatures from rising over films!) As well as birds, it is home to 269 2°C from pre-industrial conditions. The fish species, 236 mammalian species U.S. withdrawing from this agreement and 141 reptile and amphibian species, means that we are one step further including approximately 10 million away from reaching this goal. It also caimans. means that there will be less funding for climate change research. The question is,

However, this biodiversity and these how are we ever meant to stop climate mesmerising creatures are under threat change if not even world leaders will due to the Pantanal wildfires. Like the acknowledge it is an issue? Amazon, the Pantanal fires were started by humans and made worse by climate change. There are no exact figures for just how many animals have perished in I can only hope that for our futures, for the future of our children, and the future of generations to come that the world comes to realise the extent of the ...more than eight times the size of London in rainforest that will never fully recover these fires, but there is thought to be a problem of climate change. Not only minimum of thousands including snakes, does it contribute to these horrific fires tapirs, jaguars and monkeys. that severely damage ecosystems and

What seems to make this situation lead to the extinction of animals, but more heart-breaking is that people it contributes to a whole host of other with positions of power who are able to problems too- and something needs to put an end to this are actively denying be done about it.