The threat to Amazon rainforest due to the changing climate and land-use has been perceived for several decades now and while there have been small victories in the fight to conserve the world’s green lungs, the severity of the recent calamities in the region have highlighted the need for urgent, efficient measures.
The dry conditions in Brazil, which has 66 per cent of the rainforest, began a month earlier this year than usual. Since September, the rainforests have witnessed around 7,000 wildfires, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. In the days that followed, it was clear that the the Amazon river basin was in the grip of a severe drought: The water level in River Negro, the largest tributary of the Amazon river, dipped to a historic low level at Port of Manaus in Brazil.
This indicates a global crisis since the Amazon basin carries a fifth of the world’s freshwater. And this is exactly what the Indigenous leaders at the ongoing 28th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) wants to call to the attention of policymakers.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/forests/protect-indigenous-rights-to-save-amazon-forest-urge-leaders-at-cop28-93106