Scribd
Upload
236 views3 pages

Geography Research Project: Amazon Forest Fires - 2019

The document summarizes the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires that occurred in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay from January to ongoing. Slash-and-burn methods used to clear forest for agriculture and livestock led to increased deforestation and fire activity. The international community expressed concern over the fires and their impact on global climate change due to the Amazon's role as the world's largest carbon sink.

Uploaded by

Abhay G K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
236 views3 pages

Geography Research Project: Amazon Forest Fires - 2019

The document summarizes the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires that occurred in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Paraguay from January to ongoing. Slash-and-burn methods used to clear forest for agriculture and livestock led to increased deforestation and fire activity. The international community expressed concern over the fires and their impact on global climate change due to the Amazon's role as the world's largest carbon sink.

Uploaded by

Abhay G K
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

GEOGRAPHY RESEARCH PROJECT

AMAZON FOREST FIRES – 2019

Location: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay

Date: January 2019 — ongoing

Cause: Slash-and-burn approach to deforest land for agriculture

PICTURE SHOWING FOREST FIRES IN SOUTH AMERICA

The 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires season saw an unusual surge in the number of
fires occurring in the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the Amazon biome
contained within the countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru during the 2019
Amazonian tropical dry season. Fires normally occur around the dry season as slash-
and-burn methods are used to clear the forest to make way for agriculture, livestock,
logging, and mining, leading to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Such activity
is generally illegal within these nations, but enforcement of environmental protection
has generally been lax. The increased rates of fire counts in 2019 led to international
concern about the fate of the Amazon rainforest, which is the world's largest carbon
dioxide sink and plays a significant role in global climate change.

GEOGRAPHY
OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ALSO BEEN
AFFECTED

A number of other countries in the


Amazon basin - an area spanning 7.4m
sq km (2.9m sq miles) - have also seen a
high number of fires this year.

Venezuela has experienced the second-


highest number, with more than 26,000 fires, with Bolivia coming in third, with more
than 19,000. This is a rise of 79% on last year.

Peru, in fifth place, has seen a rise of 92%.

The size of the fires in Bolivia is estimated to have doubled since late last week. About
one million hectares - or more than 3,800 square miles - are affected.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES

Attention to the wildfires increased in the week prior to the G7 summit discussions on
August 24–26 in Biarritz, France, led by President Macron. Macron stated his intent to
open discussions related to the wildfires in the Brazilian part of the Amazon and
Bolsonaro's response to them. Merkel has also backed Macron's statements and
planned to make the issue a part of the G7 discussions. Macron further stated that
possible international statute to protect the rainforest may be needed "if a sovereign
state took concrete actions that clearly went against the interest of the planet".
Bolsonaro expressed concern to United States president Donald Trump, that with
Brazil not part of the G7, the country would be unrepresented in any such debate.
Trump offered to take the position of the Brazilian government to the meeting and
said that the US government did not agree to discuss the issue without Brazil's
presence.

During the summit, Macron and Chilean president Sebastián Piñera negotiated with
the other nations to authorize US$22 million in emergency funding to Amazonian
countries to help fight the fires.

GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY

You might also like