Luque Sao Paulo, Sep 11 – Scientists agree that protecting the Amazon rainforest is vital to fighting global warming, but new data showed Wednesday that the forest most crucial to the world’s climate is shrinking and much of it remains vulnerable.
According to an analysis by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation, about 40% of areas of the Amazon rainforest that are crucial to preventing climate change, whether natural or indigenous, receive no special protection from the government.
The data shows these areas are in the extreme southwest of the Peruvian Amazon and in the extreme northeast of Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname.
These regions of the Amazon have the largest, densest trees and the most continuous canopy cover, said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation’s Monitoring Andean Amazon Program (MAAP).
This means these areas contain the most carbon, which if destroyed by fire or logging would be released into the atmosphere as climate-warming greenhouse gases.
“It really provides a general road map of the highest carbon areas that are important to protect,” Fenner said.
“They actually point to the oldest parts of the Amazon that still exist.”
Data showing the locations and conservation status of these areas was first shared exclusively with Askume.
Amazon Conservation analyzed new data from satellite imaging company Planet, which uses lasers to obtain three-dimensional images of forests and combines them with machine learning models.
Only above-ground vegetation was considered, not below-ground carbon in roots and soil.
MAAP’s analysis shows that 61% of the Amazon’s most carbon-rich areas are protected as native reserves or other protected lands, but the remainder often has no official designation.
Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana have low levels of protection, with only 51% of their carbon areas identified for protection.
Peru protects most of its important areas, but areas that remain unprotected have been marked as logging areas.
Analysis released by MAAP last month showed that the Amazon region holds 71.5 billion tonnes of carbon, almost double the global carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.
The analysis found that the Amazon would absorb slightly more carbon than it emits in the decade up to 2022, a positive sign for the world’s climate.
But this remains the subject of fierce debate, and other studies suggest the Amazon has become a source of emissions.
