Amazon: Rainforest Losses 8 Percent To Deforestation

The Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network (RAISG) reported that deforestation in the rainforest devastated an area the size of Spain only in the decade 2008-2019.

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According to RAISG atlas, deforestation reached 513.016 km2 in that decade, and the leading causes were legal or illegal extractive activities including mining, hydrocarbons 
wood, fauna and flora, agricultural activities, and infrastructure work such as roads, dams, and more.

"Since 2015, deforestation began to rise, and in 2018 more than 31,269 km2 of forests were cut, the equivalent of one-third of Portugal. This places that year in fifth place in terms of loss, for the period studied," the report explains.

In particular, Brazil is the country hardest-hit by deforestation as data shows that "in almost half a century the country lost 18.9% of its original forest (798,629 
km2 equivalent to almost twice the size of Germany). No other nation cut down so much in so little time," RAISG remarks.

In this sense, the organization warns that "the definition of public policies 
environmental issues without considering indigenous peoples' knowledge set off alarms about the frequency, extent, and severity of fires can spread in the Amazon region."