Environment, 3rd prize
Amazon: Paradise Threatened
Daniel Beltra
18 February, 2017
A remnant of rainforest stands in fields cleared for agriculture, near the Tapajós River, Brazilian Amazon.
After declining from major peaks in 1995 and 2004, the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon increased sharply in 2016, under pressure from logging, mining, agriculture and hydropower developments. The Amazon forest is one of Earth’s great ‘carbon sinks’, absorbing billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and acting as a climate regulator. Without it, the world’s ability to lock up carbon would be reduced, compounding the effects of global warming.
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