http://www.naturalnews.com/023673.html
Half the Amazon Rainforest to be Lost by 2030
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
by: David Gutierrez
(NaturalNews) Due to the effects of global warming and deforestation, more
than half of the Amazon rainforest may be destroyed or severely damaged by
the
year 2030, according to a re****t released by the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF).
The re****t, "Amazon's Vicious Cycles: Drought and Fire," concludes that 55
percent of the world's largest rainforest stands to be severely damaged
from
agriculture, drought, fire, logging and livestock ranching in the next 22
years. Another 4 percent may be damaged by reduced rainfall caused by
global
warming. This is anticipated to destroy up to 80 percent of wildlife
habitat
in the region.
By 2100, the re****t adds, global warming may cause rainfall in the Amazon
to
drop by 20 percent and temperatures to increase by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6
degrees Fahrenheit). This combination will increase the occurrence of
forest
fires, further accelerating the pace of deforestation.
The Amazon contains more than half of the planet's surviving rainforest
and is
a key stabilizer of global climate. The re****t notes that losing 60
percent of
it would accelerate the pace of global warming, affecting rainfall as far
away
as India.
WWF warned that the "point of no return" for the Amazon rainforest, from
which
ecological recovery will be impossible, is only 15-25 years in the future,
much sooner than has previously been supposed.
"The Amazon is on a knife-edge," said WWF-UK forests head Beatrix
Richards,
"due to the dual threats of deforestation and climate change."
She called for the countries discussing global climate change at an
international conference in Bali to take the im****tance of forests into
account.
"At the international negotiations currently underway in Bali, governments
must agree a process which results in ambitious global emission reduction
targets beyond the current phase of Kyoto," she said. "Crucially, this
must
include a strategy to reduce emissions from forests and help break the
cycle
of deforestation."
Natural News Network 2008
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