More than 10,000 species are in danger of extinction in the Amazon, according to a huge study

(Reuters) – More than 10,000 species of plants and animals are at high risk of extinction due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, 35% of which have already been deforested or degraded, according to the draft of a landmark scientific report published on Wednesday.

Prepared by the Scientific Panel for the Amazon (SPA), the 33-chapter report brings together research on the world’s largest rainforest by 200 scientists from around the globe.

It is the most detailed assessment of the state of the rainforest to date and makes clear both the vital role the Amazon plays in the global climate and the profound risks it faces.

Reducing deforestation and forest degradation to zero in less than a decade “is essential,” says the report, which also calls for massive restoration of already destroyed areas.

The rainforest is a vital bulwark against climate change, both for the carbon it absorbs and for the carbon it stores.

According to the report, the soil and vegetation of the Amazon contain some 200 billion tons of carbon, more than five times the annual CO2 emissions of the entire world.

Furthermore, the continuing destruction caused by human interference in the Amazon puts more than 8,000 endemic plants and 2,300 animals at high risk of extinction, the report added.

Science shows that humans face potentially irreversible and catastrophic risks due to multiple crises, such as climate change and the decline of biodiversity, said University of Brasilia professor Mercedes Bustamante during a virtual roundtable.

“There is a small opportunity to change this trajectory,” Bustamante said. “The fate of the Amazon is fundamental for the solution of global crises.”

In Brazil, deforestation has increased since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019, reaching a 12-year high last year and sparking international outcry from foreign governments and the public.

Bolsonaro has called for mining and agriculture in the Amazon’s protected areas and has weakened environmental enforcement agencies, which environmentalists and scientists say has directly resulted in increasing destruction.

Neighboring Colombia reported a week ago that deforestation increased 8% in 2020 compared to the previous year, reaching 171,685 hectares (424,000 acres), and almost 64% of the destruction occurred in the Amazon region of the country.

During the panel, the former president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, lamented the lack of political will of the Amazonian countries to address the problems of the jungle.

“Unfortunately, right now in Latin America and especially in these eight countries (…) you don’t see that political leadership, you don’t see any of those presidents taking the baton,” he said, referring to the countries that border the tropical forest. .

According to the report, 18% of the Amazon basin has already been deforested, mostly for agriculture and illegal timber. Another 17% have degraded.

Continued destruction can jeopardize the rainforest’s own ability to function as a carbon sink, with potentially devastating results for global climate change.