Amazon rainforest has lost an area the size of Germany and France
Deforestation, mainly for mining and agriculture, has led to the loss of more than 880,000 sq km of forest cover since 1985, experts say
The Amazon rainforest has lost an area about the size of Germany and France combined to deforestation in four decades, fuelling drought and record wildfires across South America, experts said.
The world’s biggest jungle, spanning nine countries, is crucial to the fight against climate change due to its ability to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
However, researchers say a record spate of wildfires this year has instead released massive amounts of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.
Various scientific reports have laid out the grim links between forest loss and a changing climate and the devastation that can follow for humans and wildlife.
Deforestation, mainly for mining and agricultural purposes, has led to the loss of 12.5 per cent of the Amazon’s plant cover from 1985 to 2023, according to RAISG, a collective of researchers and NGOs.
This amounts to 88 million hectares (880,000 sq km, 339,773 square miles) of forest cover lost across Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.