The number of fires in Brazil's Amazon basin is still on the rise, even though the government has banned burning, officials said Saturday.

In the first 48 hours since the ban was issued, satellite data from the National Space Research Institute (INPE) showed 3,859 new outbreaks of fire, of which some 2,000 were concentrated in the Amazon region.

From January to the end of August, 51.9 percent of Brazil's recorded 88,816 fires were in the rainforest, according to the INPE, a number experts call a dramatic, direct consequence of farmers' widespread deforestation.

Brazil's Amazon region is in its dry season, but experts note that 2019 has been wetter than previous years -- they also stress that there are no natural fires in the Amazon.

The no-burn decree may have been too little too late, and more of a political than practical gesture, some analysts say.

Deforestation has surged this year as agencies tasked with monitoring illegal activities were weakened by right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.

Often called the Trump of the Tropics, Bolsonaro has questioned climate change, and argues farmers sometimes need the land for their livelihood.

Since the weekend thousands of troops, firefighters, and aircraft have been deployed, and the defense ministry says the fires are under control.

Bolsonaro claimed in a live Facebook broadcast Thursday "this year's fires are below the average of recent years."

Deforestation for farming is one of the most serious threats to the rainforest and is a problem present in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

Farmers Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia commonly set fires in the dry season to clear the undergrowth in deforested areas. However, this often leads to uncontrolled burning, which takes a greater toll on the rainforest.

Much to environmentalists' chagrin, Bolivia's government recently authorized farmers to burn 20 hectares (almost 50 acres) instead of the usual five hectares (12 acres) -- which is believed to have contributed to thousands of wildfires that razed 1.2 million hectares of grassland and forest since May.

Illegal crops also reduce the rainforest, such as Colombian coca cultivation, which covers roughly 170,000 hectares, according to UN data.

Significant damage is also done by illegal mining operations, which is compounded by the use of chemicals such as mercury -- particularly in gold mining -- which contaminates soil and streams.

Fires not the only threat facing Amazon
Lima (AFP) Aug 31, 2019 - Raging wildfires have drawn the world's attention to the Amazon but immolation is just one of the dangers facing the world's largest rain forest, environmental experts across the region say.

The Amazon, covering 5.5 million square kilometers (2.1 million square miles) over nine countries, faces ever more serious threats from encroaching crop and livestock farming, mining, land occupations and illegal logging.

- Crop and livestock farming -

Deforestation for farming is one of the most serious threats to the rain forest, a problem common to all nine jurisdictions: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

"The main cause of deforestation is the advancing agricultural boundary," said Jose Luis Capella, director of a forest plantation program in Peru, 13 percent of which is covered by the Amazon basin.

A case in point is Ecuador, where agricultural land increased by 23 percent between 2000 and 2017 -- gouged from its share of the Amazon basin region.

"This is one of the main factors in the shrinking of the rain forest," said Carmen Josse, director of the Fundacion Ecociencia in Quito.

A practice common in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia is for farmers to set fires in the dry season to clear the undergrowth in deforested areas. However, this often leads to uncontrolled burning, which takes a greater toll on the rain forest.

Much to environmentalists' chagrin, Bolivia's government recently authorized farmers to burn 20 hectares (almost 50 acres) instead of the usual five hectares (12 acres) -- which is believed to have contributed to thousands of wildfires that razed 1.2 million hectares of grassland and forest since May.

Illegal crops also nibble away at the forest, like coca cultivation in Colombia, which now has nearly 170,000 hectares covered by coca plantations, according to UN data.

- Mining -

Illegal mining operations being carried out in most Amazon basin region countries causes significant damage, compounded by the use of chemicals such as mercury -- particularly in gold mining -- which has contaminated soil and streams.

The council of the Amerindian peoples of French Guiana declared after a recent meeting that "fire is not the only danger that threatens or destroys the Amazon. Extraction is largely responsible."

Some 29,000 hectares of rainforest have been destroyed due to both legal and illegal gold panning since 2003, according to the French territory's National Forestry Office.

Venezuela's cash-strapped government turned to the Amazon's resources after the collapse of oil prices contributed to its economic crisis. It launched a vast project in 2016 to extract bauxite, coltan, diamonds and gold in an area of more than 110,000 square kilometers of rain forest.

"Mining is much more serious than the fires," said Cecilia Gomez Miliani, head of the Venezuelan environmental NGO Vitalis. "All vegetation is cut, eliminated, and this poses problems of soil erosion, mercury contamination and population displacements."

Josse said the most worrying thing about mining is that it causes "permanent deforestation" by destroying several layers of soil, preventing regenerative growth.

In Ecuador, oil concessions encroaching on indigenous lands are also taking a toll.

In Peru, the government has deployed the army in the Amazon to try to stop illegal mining that has flourished in remote areas long left unprotected by the state.

Colombia has also mobilized its security forces to try to protect the Amazon basin after more than 138,000 hectares of rain forest disappeared in 2018, accounting for 70 percent of the country's total deforestation.

- Illegal occupation, hardwood trafficking -

Lack of a state presence in many remote and rural areas has also contributed to the growing practice of illegal land occupation, in which landless farmers settle on land hoping to get a legal title at some point.

"There is a tendency to confuse land occupation with (deforestation for) livestock," said Carolina Urrutia, of the Colombian NGO Parques Como Vamos.

"But there is a more complex phenomenon behind this process," namely the greed of politicians and businessmen to "own as much land as possible," and speculating on resale, she said.

"The absence of institutional control over the informal land market and the appropriation of public vacant lots make this phenomenon possible," says Rodrigo Botero of Colombia's Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development.

Under pressure from environmentalists, the Bolivian government has sought to make amends this week by announcing an "ecological pause" -- prohibiting the sale of fire-ravaged land to crack down on speculators.

But that may be too little too late in a country that by its own admission has lost 1.2 million hectares of grassland and forest to fires since May.

The Amazon's massive timber resources long put the rainforest at risk from illegal logging concerns, particularly those trading in hardwoods like mahogany, now in danger of being wiped out from over-exploitation.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Brazil's burning ban takes effect as Amazon fires rage
Porto Velho, Brazil (AFP) Aug 30, 2019
A 60-day ban on burning in Brazil took effect Thursday after a global outcry over fires raging in the Amazon and data showing hundreds of new blazes in the rainforest. The decree issued by President Jair Bolsonaro comes after escalating international pressure over the worst fires in the Amazon in years, which have ignited a diplomatic spat between Brazil and Europe. But activists quickly doused hopes that the ban would work. "The people who burn without a license are not going to obey," said ... read more