The RainForests: The Struggle to Preserve Earth's Green Lung Against Accelerating Deforestation

 The rainforests, the world's colossal green lungs, play a pivotal role in mitigating climate change, absorbing atmospheric carbon, and hosting over half of the world's plant and animal species. Alarmingly, these vital ecosystems, ranging from the Amazon to the Congo, are vanishing at a staggering pace, with an area equivalent to seven soccer fields disappearing every 15 seconds.

The primary culprit behind this destruction is human activity, including illegal lumber trade, mining, and clearing land for high-demand commodities like soybeans and intensive livestock farming. These activities not only decimate the forests but also trigger a surge in pollutant emissions.

The Amazon, the planet's largest rainforest, covers an area of 6.5 million square kilometers across nine South American countries. It serves as a biodiversity hotspot, sheltering ten percent of all known plants and animals, including the Amazon River dolphin, the jaguar, and the boa constrictor.

Unfortunately, under the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro's administration, deforestation levels in the Amazon skyrocketed. Data from the Brazilian Institute of Space Research (INPE) indicates a staggering 34% increase in tree felling in his first year of office compared to 2018.

However, with the election of President Lula da Silva, there have been promising signs of change. Recent INPE data shows a significant reduction in rainforest destruction, marking the third-lowest figure in recent years. While it's still early days, the new Brazilian president has pledged to eradicate Amazonian deforestation entirely by 2030, a bold mission that the world watches with bated breath.

Sources: WWF/Greenpeace/INPE