Human activity degraded more than a third of remaining Amazon forest: Study

PTI, WASHINGTON, JANUARY 29, 2023: The Amazon rainforest has been degraded by a much greater extent than scientists previously believed with more than a third of remaining forest affected by humans, according to anew study.

The study shows that upto 38 per cent of the remaining Amazon forest area - equivalent to ten times the size of the UK - has been affected by some form of human disturbance, causing carbon emissions equivalent to or greater than those from deforestation. The paper was led by an international team of 35scientists and researchers, from institutions such as Brazil's University of Campinas (Unicamp), the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM),National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and UK's Lancaster University, it said.

The work is the result of the AIMES (Analysis, Integration and Modelling of the Earth System)project, linked to the Future Earth international Human activity degraded more than a third of remaining Amazon forest: Study initiative, which brings together scientists and researchers who study sustainability, the study said. The findings, published in the journal Science, are the result of an analytical review of previously published scientific data, based on satellite imagery and a synthesis of published data outlining changes in the Amazon region between 2001 and2018, the study said. 

The authors define the concept of degradation as transient or long-term changes in forest conditions caused by humans. Degradation is different from deforestation, where the forest is removed altogether and a new land use, such as agriculture, is established in its place. Although highly degraded forests can lose almost all of the trees, the land use itself does not change. The authors evaluate four key disturbances driving forest degradation: forest fire, edge effects or changes that occur in forests adjacent to deforested areas, selective logging such as illegal logging and extreme drought. Different forest areas can be affected by one or more of these disturbances."

Despite uncertainty about the total effect of these disturbances, it is clear that their cumulative effect can be as important as deforestation for carbon emissions and biodiversity loss," said Jos Barlow, a professor at Lancaster University, UK, and co-author of the paper. The scientists assessed that the degradation of the Amazon also has significant socioeconomic impacts, which should be further investigated in the future.

"Degradation benefits the few, but places important burdens on many," says Dr. Rachel Carmenta, a co-author based at the University of East Anglia, UK. "Few people profit from the degradation processes, yet many lose out across all dimensions of human well-being - including health, nutrition and the place attachments held for the forest landscapes where they live. "Furthermore, many of these burdens are hidden at present; recognising them will help enable better governance with social justice at the centre," said Carmenta.