Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Jan 23, 2020 13:25:46 GMT 2
(.#A.023).- In Africa too, forests are burning, 27 August 2019.
In Africa too, forests are burning, 27 August 2019.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019.
The "second green lung" of the world would disappear faster than the Amazon.
KINSHASA (AFP) The thesis ignites overheated minds: these days, the forests of Central Africa would burn even faster than the Amazon, and in general indifference unlike the fires in Brazil that ignited the speeches of the great powers gathered in France in recent days.
Abundantly relayed, a NASA satellite map shows in incandescent red the area of fire starts that take the heart of the continent in sling, from Gabon to Angola, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
The concern is raised to the G7 Biarritz. "The forest is also burning in sub-Saharan Africa. We are examining the possibility of launching an initiative similar to the one we have just announced for the Amazon, "tweeted President Emmanuel Macron.
CRUCIAL ROLE
The anxiety of the French president is legitimate. The Congo Basin forest is commonly compared to the "second green lung" of the planet, after the Amazon. It covers an area of about 2 million square kilometers in several countries, half of them in the DRC, and the rest in neighboring countries (Gabon, Congo, Cameroon and Central Africa).
Like the Amazon, the forests of the Congo River basin absorb tons of CO2 in their trees and peat bogs. They are sanctuaries of endangered species.
Caution, however. The fires observed in Africa on NASA maps "are not in this (forest) zone, but rather in Angola, Zambia, etc." "Says Guillaume Lescuyer, specialist of Central Africa at the Center for International Cooperation for Development (CIRAD).
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE
These fires are ordinary at the end of the dry season, adds the Angolan Ministry of Environment: "It turns out that at this time of the year, in many parts of our country, there are fires caused by farmers in the land preparation phase. "
"In the Amazon, the forest burns mainly because of drought and climate change. But in Central Africa, it is mainly due to agricultural techniques, "explains Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, ambassador and climate negotiator for the DRC.
A thousand-year-old and artisanal practice, unlike intensive soybean cultivation in Brazil, slash-and-burn agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation.
"At the current rate of population growth (...), our forests are threatened with extinction by 2100," Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi said last week.
At the risk of fires are added deforestation that threatens the species (Okoumé of Gabon, Afrormosia of the DRC ...) and the exploitation of natural resources (oil and mines).
"The forest cover of the DRC has increased from 67% to 54% of the territory between 2003 and 2018. Deforestation is real," says Mpanu Mpanu.
F I N.
In Africa too, forests are burning, 27 August 2019.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019.
The "second green lung" of the world would disappear faster than the Amazon.
KINSHASA (AFP) The thesis ignites overheated minds: these days, the forests of Central Africa would burn even faster than the Amazon, and in general indifference unlike the fires in Brazil that ignited the speeches of the great powers gathered in France in recent days.
Abundantly relayed, a NASA satellite map shows in incandescent red the area of fire starts that take the heart of the continent in sling, from Gabon to Angola, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.
The concern is raised to the G7 Biarritz. "The forest is also burning in sub-Saharan Africa. We are examining the possibility of launching an initiative similar to the one we have just announced for the Amazon, "tweeted President Emmanuel Macron.
CRUCIAL ROLE
The anxiety of the French president is legitimate. The Congo Basin forest is commonly compared to the "second green lung" of the planet, after the Amazon. It covers an area of about 2 million square kilometers in several countries, half of them in the DRC, and the rest in neighboring countries (Gabon, Congo, Cameroon and Central Africa).
Like the Amazon, the forests of the Congo River basin absorb tons of CO2 in their trees and peat bogs. They are sanctuaries of endangered species.
Caution, however. The fires observed in Africa on NASA maps "are not in this (forest) zone, but rather in Angola, Zambia, etc." "Says Guillaume Lescuyer, specialist of Central Africa at the Center for International Cooperation for Development (CIRAD).
AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE
These fires are ordinary at the end of the dry season, adds the Angolan Ministry of Environment: "It turns out that at this time of the year, in many parts of our country, there are fires caused by farmers in the land preparation phase. "
"In the Amazon, the forest burns mainly because of drought and climate change. But in Central Africa, it is mainly due to agricultural techniques, "explains Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, ambassador and climate negotiator for the DRC.
A thousand-year-old and artisanal practice, unlike intensive soybean cultivation in Brazil, slash-and-burn agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation.
"At the current rate of population growth (...), our forests are threatened with extinction by 2100," Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi said last week.
At the risk of fires are added deforestation that threatens the species (Okoumé of Gabon, Afrormosia of the DRC ...) and the exploitation of natural resources (oil and mines).
"The forest cover of the DRC has increased from 67% to 54% of the territory between 2003 and 2018. Deforestation is real," says Mpanu Mpanu.
F I N.
