Destruction of the Amazon rainforest is occurring two to three times more rapidly than previously estimated. Conservatively, 16 percent of the original forest is already gone.
A new study in the journal, Nature, says that the rate of destruction of the Amazon rainforest is two to three times greater than previous estimates based on the satellite analysis.
The new research was conducted mainly by ecologist Daniel C. Nepstad of the Woods Hole Research Center in Massachusetts and colleagues at the Institute of Environmental Research in Belem, Brazil. They measured forest losses at 1,104 different locations from a light plane and on the ground.
Nepstad says that 17,000 square miles of the Amazon forest were lost to cutting and burning in 1998, about three times the official Brazilian government estimate of 5,700 square miles. The total amount of rainforest already lost to human encroachment is 217,000 square miles - 140 million acres!
Destruction of this Amazon region is one of the biggest concerns of environmentalists and is also among the most contentious political issues in Brazil. The Amazon contains more unique species of plants and animals than any other part of the world. Thousands of species are entirely lost every year, before they are ever identified - and no one can say what potential benefits to humanity are lost with them.
Can destruction of the Amazon be curtailed? Some observers are doubtful. "How can you control development in an area where there is no control?" states Compton Tucker, a NASA biologist.
AIRR’s policy of purchasing rainforest land and protecting it with Forest Rangers is the best solution!