Amazon Forest talks: Leaders of 8 countries meet on protecting Amazon Forest, why is it so important?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Earth.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Amazon rainforest has 16,000 or one in ten species of plants on the Earth. It contains about 20 percent of the world’s freshwater reserve and has thousands of tree species that absorb greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and acts as a climate sink of the world. It reduces the impact of climate change and helps protect mankind.

Amazon forest also houses tens of millions of people, including hundreds of tribes and aboriginal communities across eight countries. But this vast area has always been a target of colonizers and exploiters who have used it for profiteering. It has suffered deforestation on a large scale. Consequently, according to the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Pact, it has lost 85 million hectares or 221 million acres or almost 13 percent of the original forest cover.

Most of this destruction took place in the last fifty years as new technologies ushered cattle ranching and soybean farming in the area. According to the Climate Observatory, the Brazilian state of Para has more than 27 million cattle in its thousands of ranches and has become the leading emitter of greenhouse gases.

Arguing that it would create jobs and reduce poverty, Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro urged for more farming and mining, thus weakening already vulnerable rainforest areas. As a result, Brazil forever lost a vast area of its rainforest in the first three years of his presidency.

Scientists have warned that deforestation leads to more greenhouse gases, reduced rainfall, and higher