Ecological Aftermath Of Amazon Fires And How It Could Cost Brazil’s Economy

The 7000 square miles of landscape burned in this years Amazon rainforest fires are a charred ground zero in the biodiversity hotspot. Home to the highest concentration of known plant and animal species, the man-made fires and deforestation in Brazil damage and continue to threaten this ecosystem.

While much of the rich biodiversity of the Amazon is documented, there is still a lot we don’t know about undiscovered species in the dense rainforest. Scientists are alarmed by fires that could potentially destroy undiscovered species with medicinal or ecological value. However, this requires sustainable growing and extraction practices executed by a well trained workforce operating within secure conservation guidelines.

What has been the actual damage to plant and animal life so far?

Protecting Amazonian plant life is integral to helping mitigate the ever-worsening effects of global warming including rising sea temperatures. Dan Napstead, the founder and president of the Earth Innovation Institute, reiterates this in an interview with NPR. Napstead explains how the rainforest functions as a large cooling system, with water evaporation off of each leaf on every plant in the rainforest absorbing energy. Given the size of the Amazon, if plant life continues to be destroyed it could have a great impact on the way air and energy move around the planet. So despite the localized damage, it has global implications.

While images of tens of thousands of hectares ablaze have highlighted the immediate impact of the fires, the long term effects on plant life are also troubling. In an article for the Washington Post, Vitor Gomes — an environmental scientist at the Federal University of Para in Brazil, shared the research he co-authored. According to the study, climate-change-related impacts, such as increased dryness, along with deforestation could cause a 60 percent decline in Amazon tree species.

The damage to animal life in the wake of the rampant fires has also been a cause for serious concern. Mazeika Sullivan, associate professor at Ohio State University’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, told National Geographic Magazine that Amazon animal species that are not well adapted to fire, have limited escape options. The animals can seek shelter or protection in water or by burrowing into the ground, but more often the animals are displaced. However, Sullivan says is it most likely that the animals will die, particularly slow-moving and less-mobile creatures such as frogs and lizards and animals like sloths and anteaters die from the flames, the heat of the flames or smoke inhalation.

Exact damage to endangered species is hard to say because the spread of animals in the Amazon is less documented than in other wildlife areas. Although several species in particular may be at risk according to Carlos Cesar Durigan, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Brazil. Durigan told National Geographic that two types of monkeys, the Milton’s titi and Mura’s saddleback tamarin, may be affected. Both species have only ever been documented in southern parts of the rainforest already torched by fires or impending risk areas. Durigan worries that perhaps the monkeys’ habitats may be regional — devastating the species’ populations.

In an intricate and layered ecosystem such as the Amazon, Sullivan outlines the long term dangers of losing the rainforest canopy. It is a habitat for many species and an essential protective shade for plants and animals below. Canopies destroyed by fires, expose the ground and certain species below to light — changing energy flows in the ecosystem that could topple down the entire food chain.

Amazon animal species are highly specialized for certain environments and food supplies. Sullivan names toucans, who eat fruit only their long beaks can reach and spider monkeys who thrive high in the canopy. “What happens when you lose the canopy?” Sullivan asks. “They’re forced into other areas with more competition.”

What are the implications for Brazil’s economy as a result of these ecological losses?

Motivations for man-made fires in the Amazon are primarily profit-based, with large economic gains that come from clearing land for the production of cattle and soybeans. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Brazil has the second-largest cattle herd in the world after India. However, Harvard professor of biology and Amazon researcher, Brian Farrell told Harvard Gazette that in fact cattle production is the least sustainable and is a less economically valuable use of rainforests.

The Amazon remains as one of the biggest natural resources on the planet. Research conducted by Carlos A. Nobre and Ismael Nobre through the Amazonia Third Way Initiative explores the opportunities for rainforest conservation that could create a “biodiversity-driven green economy”. The study emphasises the value of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and other natural plant products that are sustainably extracted and very valuable, for example açai. These products yield greater value per hectare compared to cattle or soybean production. Richard Howells writes in an article for Forbes, it is estimated that 25 percent of the pharmaceutical drugs sold in the U.S. are derived from 40 Amazon plants.

The fires pose a serious risk to these valuable natural resources, not to mention the impact they could have on trade deals, sustainability goals and supply chain sourcing. The reasoning behind burning practices is aimed at propelling development, but comes at the cost of losing valuable green assets in the Amazon rainforest.