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A new study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications concluded that widespread deforestation in the Amazon over the past four decades has reduced rainfall by 11 percent a year in parts of the south of the biome. According to scientists, the loss of the forest altered the natural water cycle, making the local climate drier and more unstable.
As ((the)eco) details, the survey analyzed satellite data from 1980 to 2019 and employed climate models to investigate how vegetation removal affects moisture circulation in the atmosphere. The Amazon rainforest functions as a “water pump”: trees absorb water from the soil and return some of the moisture to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration, which facilitates the formation of clouds and rains. When trees are removed from the equation, the process weakens.
And many trees are being felled in the Amazon. A study conducted by the SIMEX network (ICV, Imaflora and Imazon) and released by g1 shows that the states that most exploited timber legally and illegally between August 2023 and July 2024 are in the Amazonian biome: Mato Grosso, with 190 thousand hectares; Amazons, with 46 thousand hectares; and Pará, with 43 thousand hectares.
In the South of Amazonas, the highlight is for Lábrea, which occupies the 2nd position in the ranking of illegal exploitation, with 12.7 hectares of forest exploited without authorization. The region is one of the most threatened by the activity, which also pressures Indigenous Territories (ITs), such as the Kaxarari Indigenous Land (AM/RO), where 2,885 hectares were illegally exploited, reports the 18 Hours.
“When illegal exploitation grows in Indigenous Lands and Conservation Units, this indicates fragility in the mechanisms of command and control and an insufficient response in the face of a problem that has been repeated for years,” said Imaflora technical analyst Julia Niero.
In time 1: Thirteen scientific entities published a technical note stating that the paving of the BR-319 highway increases the risk of disease transmission. The impacts of works on the road and the exploitation of potassium in Autazes (AM) interfere in lands near the Purus and Madeira rivers, known for microbiological reservoirs with isolated strains and pathogenic potential, details O Globo. Experts recommend non-paving of the road and also the immediate suspension of maintenance activities carried out by the National Department of Transportation Infrastructure (DNIT).
In time 2: In Manicoré, also in the south of the Amazon, a man was sentenced after irregular felling of more than 454 hectares of native forest. In addition to a fine of R$ 7.3 million, he will have up to 180 days to present and execute a recovery plan of the impacted area, CNN Brasil and Amazonas 1Amazonas 1 report. The magistrate also authorized the removal and seizure of structures that hinder the natural regeneration of vegetation. In addition, the sentence must appear in the registration of the property so that the obligation of recovery remains linked to the property, regardless of changes in ownership.