According to a statement released today by the Brazilian government, the latest numbers on the figures of deforestation in the world's largest rainforest show a drop to the lowest levels since 1988 when satellite monitoring began. What's really exciting about this news is that the new figures suggest a trend of decreasing deforestation. The previous record low was seen last year! Beginning in the 1980's the National Institute for Space Research began monitoring the Amazon forest cover monthly via satellite imaging. It has become a extremely valuable tool to access the state of the rainforest and to quickly inform authorities of specific areas where deforestation seems to be increasing. This project is known as Project Monitoring Deforestation in the Amazon (PRODES). PRODES, along with improvements in land management, has caused illegal logging practices to slow in recent years. Although the lower rates of deforestation in the Amazon is clearly a positive step in the right direction, many people believe that an alarmingly poor record of prosecuted deforesters and recent changes in Brazil's Forest Code casts a long shadow on the future of the world's largest and most valuable rainforest.
I was thrilled to read that the level of deforestation in the Amazon has been decreasing. The Amazon is known as the "Lungs of our Planet" because it produces 20% of the world's oxygen. 20%!!! The Amazon is home to the widest range of flora and fauna in the world. The Amazon rainforest watershed is home to the world's highest level of biodiversity. The canopy of Amazonia is less studied than the ocean floor and scientists believe that the canopy may contain HALF of the world's species. One third of the world's birds live in the Amazon rainforest! Despite all of the abundant richness, Amazon trees grow in the poorest of soil.
According to Blueplanetbio.org, "the top two inches of the acidic soil contains 99% of the nutrients. Nine tenths of the forest's energy is stored in the leaves and tissues of the trees themselves. The forest floor is a porous mass that prevents minerals and nutrients from being washed away and lost. As soon as a tree falls, or a creature dies, decomposers begin to turn it into a food source and mulch. The vegetation to renew the cycle quickly absorbs the nutrients that are released. This is the tightest, most efficient ecosystem in nature. The destruction of one part of the system can spell the destruction of the whole system."
It is profoundly important that we protect the Amazon rainforest. In addition to being the home to a majority of our planet's living species, scientists are now discovering that many of the plants are sources for new drugs for AIDS, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, and arthritis. Today 121 prescription drugs sold around the world come from plant-derived sources. Although 25% of all drugs are derived from rainforest ingredients, scientists have tested only 1% of tropical plants. (Blueplanetbio.org) If we destroy this nutrient paradise we will be left with 20% less oxygen, 50% less species, 1/3 less birds, and potentially 100% less potential to discover cures for common life-threatening diseases.
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