Following days of heavy rains in Brazil, the country’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul is experiencing severe landslides and flooding. At least 85 people have been killed. Of the 497 cities in the area, more than two-thirds have been affected by the storms, which have destroyed roads and bridges, reported Reuters. On Monday, […]
Over 100 Amazon river dolphins were found dead in Lake Tefé over the past week, the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, a social organization under Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, reported. Thousands of dead fish were also found, with experts concerned that the record-breaking high water temperatures and ongoing drought in the region […]
The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest on the planet. It is home to more animal and plant species than any terrestrial ecosystem, including one-third of the world’s tropical trees. This diverse sanctuary is also one of the last refuges for jaguars, pink river dolphins and harpy eagles, according to WWF. Brazil has an […]
Representatives from the eight countries that share the Amazon river basin have signed the Belém Declaration, an agreement to work together to conserve the planet’s largest rainforest that includes a list of shared environmental measures and policies. However, the accord fell short of a consensus on ending deforestation. The countries — Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, […]
Have you ever wondered why there aren’t electric flying taxis zipping between points around the city, like in Back to the Future Part II or The Jetsons? It turns out they’ll be here soon. Brazilian plane maker Embraer said a new factory to make the “electric vertical take-off and landing” (eVTOL) aircraft will be constructed […]
From January to June of this year — the first six months of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s presidential term — deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon has fallen 33.6 percent, new government satellite data shows, as The Associated Press reported. Lula’s stricter environmental rules led to 1,023 square miles of cleared rainforest during that time frame, […]
The Brazilian government has unveiled the fifth phase of an Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAm) — Earth’s largest tropical rainforest — by 2030. First launched in 2004, the new phase of the PPCDAm will combat environmental crimes with bolstered law enforcement, among other strategies, reported Reuters. In […]
Preliminary data shows that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest within Brazil has seen a 64% decline compared to deforestation in April 2022. The findings represent a major shift under Brazil’s newly elected President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, who campaigned on promises to end deforestation in the country. The data could signal hopes of reversing […]
The Amazon rainforest plays a critical role in the mitigation of climate change, but in recent years it has been the target of a steep increase in deforestation. A demarcation decree by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil has established six new Indigenous reserves in the South American country where no mining will […]