Deforestation wiped out 8% of Amazon in 18 years: Study

Team Udayavani, Dec 10, 2020, 6:00 PM IST

Deforestation in the Amazon destroyed an area bigger than Spain from 2000 to 2018, wiping out 8% of the world’s biggest rainforest, a study by RAISG said.

According to Reuters, The Amazon plays a vital role in curbing climate change, but destruction of the rainforest has only accelerated in recent years, found the study by the Amazon Geo-Referenced Socio-Environmental Information Network (RAISG).

An atlas of the region showed that 5.13 lakh square kilometres of the rainforest has been lost since 2000. The highest loss of 49,240 square kilometres was recorded in 2003.

The destruction is fueled by logging, farming, ranching, mining and infrastructure projects on formerly pristine forest land.