{"id":155971,"date":"2025-07-15T22:16:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T22:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/amazon-radiography-ahead-of-cop30-record-emissions-biodiversity-loss-and-illegal-mining\/"},"modified":"2025-07-15T22:16:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T22:16:24","slug":"amazon-radiography-ahead-of-cop30-record-emissions-biodiversity-loss-and-illegal-mining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/amazon-radiography-ahead-of-cop30-record-emissions-biodiversity-loss-and-illegal-mining\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Radiography Ahead of COP30: Record Emissions, Biodiversity Loss, and Illegal Mining"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Amazon: A Crucial Battleground for Climate Action<\/h2>\n
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\n<\/picture>
The Amazon represents the largest continuous tropical forest in the world, it contains 20 percent of the planet’s superficial fresh water (AP Photo\/Eraldo Peres)<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

As the world gears up for a new United Nations Conference on Climate Change<\/b>, the focus on the Amazon region<\/b> intensifies. This year, the city of Bel\u00e9m<\/b> in northern Brazil will play host to COP30<\/b>, drawing fresh attention to one of the most biodiverse and threatened areas on the planet<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The Amazon<\/b> is the largest continuous tropical forest globally, housing 20% of the Earth’s surface fresh water<\/b> and spanning across eight countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and the French Guiana.<\/p>\n

According to a report by Americas Quarterly<\/i>, the term PAN-Amazon<\/b> refers to the zone covering countries whose jurisdictions are within the Amazon River basin. This massive area encompasses 8.3 million square kilometers<\/b> and is home to about 46.9 million people<\/b>.<\/p>\n

However, the Amazon is not only vulnerable to global climate change; it faces numerous threats stemming from illegal activities<\/b> and exploitation of natural resources<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\n\"(Reuters)\"\n<\/picture>
(Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The variety of environmental threats in the Amazon varies by country. In Peru<\/b>, illegal logging is rampant; in Venezuela<\/b>, illegal mining of coltan prevails; in Ecuador<\/b>, there is significant land being converted for oil palm plantations; while in Colombia<\/b>, the growth of illicit crops continuously pressures the jungle.<\/p>\n

Such activities, often linked to criminal networks, accelerate deforestation<\/b>, heightening the loss of biodiversity<\/b> and increasing levels of carbon emissions<\/b>.<\/p>\n

From 2021 to 2025, it is estimated that the Amazon lost over 165,600 km\u00b2 of forest cover<\/b>, an area equivalent to nearly the entire size of Uruguay. Brazil alone accounts for 83.3% of Amazonian deforestation, while Bolivia follows with 6.6%, according to the report by Americas Quarterly<\/i>, based on project data from Amaz\u00f4nia 2030<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\"The\n<\/picture>
The Amazon region houses approximately 46.9 million people, many of them exposed to illegal activities and environmental degradation (graphics: Marcelo Regalado)<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

In Brazil, the region known as Legal Amazon<\/b> covers around 5 million square kilometers<\/b>, constituting almost 61% of the entire PAN-Amazon. It includes nine states such as Acre, Amazonas, Par\u00e1, Mato Grosso,<\/b> and Rond\u00f4nia<\/b>, along with indigenous territories<\/b> totaling 1.15 million square kilometers<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Despite its vast territory and ecological importance, the Legal Amazon grapples with serious social inequalities<\/b>. As of 2024, around 28.3 million people reside in this region, yielding a scant density of only 5.3 inhabitants per square kilometer<\/b>.<\/p>\n

The poverty levels soar to 36.2%<\/b>, and formal workers earn an average monthly salary of merely $468<\/b>. Although the Legal Amazon occupies 59% of Brazil, it contributes a mere 10.1%<\/b> to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).<\/p>\n

Moreover, in 2023, this region produced around 1,100 million tons of CO\u2082 equivalent<\/b>, accounting for 48%<\/b> of Brazil’s total emissions, predominantly in areas facing rampant deforestation and forest degradation.<\/p>\n

\n\"In\n<\/picture>
In the last 23 years, the area occupied by mining farms in the Brazilian Amazon grew in a sustained way to 3,300 square kilometers, with a strong predominance of illegal activities that pollute rivers and damage communities<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The expansion of mining<\/b> has emerged as one of the most destructive forces of transformation. Over the past 23 years<\/b>, the area designated for mining activities rose significantly, reaching approximately 3,300 km\u00b2 as of 2023.<\/p>\n

Among these mining activities, around 2,700 km\u00b2 is attributed to illegal mining, which surged by 216%<\/b> from 2000 to 2023, compared to a 167%<\/b> increase from industrial practices during the same period. Such circumstances have dire implications for rivers, vegetation, and indigenous communities. One of the most severe repercussions is the mercury pollution<\/b> resulting from gold extraction, with riverside populations bearing the brunt of this environmental disaster.<\/p>\n

Intensive agriculture also plays a significant role in these transformations. In the Brazilian Amazon<\/b>, essential export crops such as soy<\/b> and corn<\/b> are cultivated, along with pastures for cattle<\/b>, which continuously encroach upon previously untouched areas. Between 2000 and 2023, the total area harvested for crops<\/b> tripled, from 8.5 to 29.3 million hectares<\/b>, while the bovine population<\/b> doubled from 47.2 to 104.8 million heads<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\n\"Illegal\n<\/picture>
Illegal mining in the Brazilian Amazon<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Bel\u00e9m, chosen to host COP30<\/b> in 2025, is marked by contrasts between structural challenges and transformative expectations.<\/p>\n

This city has socioeconomic indicators below the national average, with a GDP per capita<\/b> of just USD 3,995<\/b>\u2014less than half the Brazilian average of USD 8,596<\/b>. Further, 57.2%<\/b> of its population resides in favelas compared to just 8.1%<\/b> nationally.<\/p>\n

Bel\u00e9m also experiences higher infant mortality rates<\/b> and a level of air pollution<\/b> 172%<\/b> above what the WHO recommends, significantly worse than the national average of 98%<\/b>. With high urban informality, the city grapples with persistent deficiencies in basic services; only 67.1%<\/b> of households have access to clean water, starkly lower than the 83.9%<\/b> national average, and merely 59.9%<\/b> are connected to a sewer system against 64.7%<\/b> in the rest of Brazil.<\/p>\n

\n\"The\n<\/picture>
The PAN-Amazon houses almost 47 million people distributed across a vast region of 8.3 million square kilometers, exposed to multiple forms of degradation promoted by illegal activities and intensive exploitation of resources, according to the report<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Despite these challenges, Bel\u00e9m displays slightly better educational outcomes<\/b>. The average years of schooling stand at 10.5 for men and 10.9 for women<\/b>, outpacing the national averages of 9.3 and 9.8<\/b>, respectively.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the climate summit, the city has received USD 1.3 billion in investments<\/b>, targeting infrastructure (37.2%)<\/b>, mobility (28.5%)<\/b>, and sanitation (24.8%)<\/b>, as data from April 2025 indicate.<\/p>\n

These funds are being funneled into 38 projects<\/b>, marking significant urban transformation efforts. Thus, COP30 positions Bel\u00e9m as a symbol of the critical interplay between environmental urgency and social justice, acting as a gateway to the Amazon biome.<\/p>\n

*Graphics: Marcelo Regalado<\/i><\/p>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Amazon: A Crucial Battleground for Climate Action The Amazon represents the largest continuous tropical forest in the world, it contains 20 percent of the planet’s superficial fresh water (AP Photo\/Eraldo Peres) As the world gears up for a new United Nations Conference on Climate Change, the focus on the Amazon region intensifies. This year, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":155972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7380,2374,38936,10650,38937,531,36185,38940,1531,1263,1164,1739,394,5792,38939,169,38938],"class_list":["post-155971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mazagine","tag-ahead","tag-amazon","tag-amazon-summit","tag-biodiversity","tag-brazil-amazon-summit","tag-climate","tag-climate-change","tag-cop30","tag-emissions","tag-environment","tag-illegal","tag-loss","tag-meeting","tag-mining","tag-radiography","tag-record","tag-saving-the-rainforest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}