At least 33% of the Amazon is under greater pressure than eight years ago

The progress of extractive activities, infrastructure projects, as well as fires, deforestation and carbon loss have increased and show a trend that has no signs of reversing.

Thanks to the Atlas Amazon Under Pressure it is possible to know the threats, conflicts and pressures facing the entire Amazon region in a single platform. It consists of 23 maps, dozens of graphs and informative tables that present a complete analysis of the socio-environmental situation that crosses the largest tropical forest in the world.

One of its most important conclusions is that 7% of the Amazon territory is under very high pressure and 26% under high pressure. The areas of greatest pressure are located in peripheral regions of the biome: in mountainous and piedmont areas of the western Amazon; especially in Ecuador, in the north of Venezuela and in the south of the Brazilian Amazon.

The publication hopes to become a key input for the development of comprehensive public policies that take into account the environmental and climate connectivity of the entire territory, connectivity that transcends the borders of the countries that include it.

Mining continues to gain ground

Mining has been a constant pressure for several decades and is one of the most worrying causes of deforestation, pollution and social conflict. 'Amazon Under Pressure' presents an updated report until 2020 of mining in the Amazon, which accounts for the increase of mining activity in Amazonian soil.

Today, 4,472 illegal mining sites are known. Of these, 83% have effects on several hectares or on the rivers of the Amazon; 53.8% are in Brazil and it is noteworthy that the remaining 32% is in Venezuela, a country that barely represents 5.6% of the region. Venezuela is also the country with the highest proportion of IT and NPA affected by illegal mining, but throughout the Amazon there are 664 Indigenous Territories and 129 Natural Protected Areas where illegal mining activities occur.

Fires continue to rise

While a fire does not involve deforestation, the increase in annual burns means greater pressure in this regard. The Atlas recounts this process, which reveals the vulnerability of the region, considering that 13% of the area of the Amazon has been burned, at least once, since 2001; that is, 1.1 million km2 affected.

In extension, this area is comparable to Bolivia, which happens to be the country most affected by the phenomenon, with 27% of its Amazon territory affected. On average, every year since 2001, 169,000 km2 of Amazonia have been burned, 26,000 of them within PNA and 35,000 within IT.

Deforestation, the most worrying symptom

Between 2000 and 2018, the Amazon lost an area similar to the size of Spain. This represents 8% (513,016 km2) of the total forest area at the beginning of this period (6.3 million km2).

Although the regional reality may vary from the national one, it is clear that Brazil determines the trend; this country contains 61.8% of the territory of the Amazon and in recent years, lost 425,051 km2. Similarly, Colombia and Bolivia show similar behavior, with a loss of 31,878 and 20,515 km2 respectively.

*Bruno Kelly /Amazônia Real

Between 2000 and 2018, most of the deforestation, almost 90%, took place outside the Protected Natural Areas (NPAs) and Indigenous Territories (TI); demonstrating once again the effectiveness of these protection figures for the sustainable management of Amazonian forests.

The Atlas warns, however, that Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela should pay particular attention to their NPAs and IT, as deforestation, illegal mining and fires have become more common within their boundaries since 2015.