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Brazil Ablaze! Amazon Fires could signal "ecological meltdown
14 March 1998
Drastic man made changes to the global ecosystem could be behind the unprecedented wildfires sweeping across northern Brazil today. An area of forest and pasture twice the size of Belgium(55,000) has already been affected. Twelve thousand cattle have died, 30 per cent of local crops have been destroyed, tens of thousands of hectares of forest have been burned and ancient tribes, including the Yanomami, are threatened. There are few prospects for local fire fighters to bring the blazes under control.
The fires are burning especially fiercely because of severe drought linked to the El Nino ocean warming phenomenon. The present very pronounced El Nino effect was also responsible for the recent huge forest fires suffered by Indonesia. According to Robert May,Mr Tony Blair's chief scientist, El Nino's present severity could in turn be linked to human-induced climate change.
Friends of the Earth believes that the combination of global climate change and its impacts on agriculture, forests and other ecosystems could signal the start of an "ecological meltdown".
Tony Juniper, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said :
“These fires are possibly the worst ever. They are taking a terrible economic, human and ecological toll. How much longer can world leaders be complacent about the threat posed to people world wide by the worsening state of the global enviroment?
Friends of the Earth will be writing to Mr Blair on Monday to remind him of Britain's role in importing illegally felled timber from the Amazon, to make sure that climate change and deforestation are on the G8 agenda and to provide urgent assistance to Brazil to bring the fires under control.
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jul 2008
