Fires in the Amazon

The Amazon Basin rainforests, which produce 20 percent of our planet's oxygen, are on fire, threatening to nullify whatever little progress has been made over the recent years to check global warming. Nearly 73,000 forest fires were recorded in first eight months of the year - the highest number since 2013. It is difficult to believe that the Brazil government is absolutely nonchalant about this development; it has sent in troops to fight the fires. But that is after some of the European leaders threatened to cut off trade ties with Brazil. They blame global warming for the unprecedented heat waves in their countries. And they also think Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro is a longtime sceptic of global warming as a consequence of forest fires. However, he has rejected such a talk, and sharply reacted to criticism, arguing that one of his critics, French President Macron, betrays his "colonial mentality". Brazil also says that this year's fires have been exaggerated by social media, which in turn instigated an anti-Bolsonaro mindset. Independent sources too believe the images of fires shown on social media are decade old or of places elsewhere. But that said the fact cannot be denied that smoke from fires in the Amazon has travelled as far as the Atlantic coast and skies over Sao Paulo were darkened. The image of Brazilian leadership, therefore, is at stake as the world heritage is in dire straits. The Amazon Basin is home to some three million species of plants and animals and one million indigenous people. As it comes under threat of extinction it becomes a world concern. This gift of nature is crucial to regulating global warming as its forests absorb millions of tonnes of carbon emissions. Once it is gone it is gone forever.
What is now happening to the Amazon rainforests it happened to our forests long time back. Against the world average of 20 percent of forest cover in here we have no more than 2 percent, which is the lowest in Asia. In 1990, it was 3.38 percent, but factors such as greed on the part of illegal loggers, negligence of forest officers and inadequate fire-fighting capacity to put out fires have taken their heavy toll. At the current rate of deforestation, Pakistan will run out of forests in 50 years. But, hopefully, that will not happen. There is the growing realisation on the part of present dispensation that the forest wealth has to be not only preserved and protected but also augmented. There is a call for a billion trees, and tree-plantation ceremonies are now quite common. However, what happens once these ceremonies are over it is not a pleasant recall. These newly-planted trees would be withered away. The funds and paraphernalia required to keep alive the planted trees are said to be sorely inadequate. We should not forget that trees not only provide lumber for housing and furniture, fuel for baking the bread and shade to sit under, they also act as lungs for human beings and animals. Courtesy nature's gift of photosynthesis the leaves of trees breath in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Given the almost unchecked emissions of carbon dioxide on our roads trees are needed on the roadsides. But that is not enough; for Pakistan which is one of early victims of global warming extra efforts are required to quantitatively extend the forested areas. China could be of some help in this regard.