Amazon forests save $2 billion in pollution healthcare: study

Amazon forests save $2 billion in pollution healthcare: study

Subject: Environment

Section :Places in news

Context: Forests in Indigenous territories by absorbing pollution particles prevent a potential 15 million smoke-related respiratory and cardiovascular infections per year.

More on the News:

• Rainforests on Indigenous lands in Brazil’s Amazon protect millions of people from heart and lung diseases by absorbing pollution and save $2 billion a year in healthcare costs, researchers said in a study published Thursday, urging increased protection against deforestation.
• The article in the journal Communications Earth & Environment measured the forests’ capacity to absorb smoke pollution from fires that are intentionally started to clear land for farming.
• Combined analysis of 10 years of data on disease, forest cover and pollution found that each hectare of forest burned generates health costs of $2 million (1.8 million euros) a year due to lung and heart infections.
• Inhabited areaswith large areas of forest had fewer infections than those with low cover, with particulate matter in the air reduced by the greenery.

Amazon Rainforest:

• Comprising about 40% of Brazil’s total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes Mountains to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
• These are large tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America and covering an area of 6,000,000 square km.
• Tropical forests are closed-canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.
• They are very wet places, receiving more than 200 cm rainfall per year, either seasonally or throughout the year.
• Temperatures are uniformly high – between 20°C and 35°C.
• A 30 percent of all species on Earth are found in the Amazon rainforest.
• As the largest tropical rainforest in the world, it is the source of 20% of the oxygen used by the planet.
• The rainforest of the Amazon is home to 400–500 indigenous Amerindian tribes

Significance of Amazon Rainforest:

• Rich biodiversity: More plant and animal species can be found in the Amazon than in any other terrestrial ecosystem in the world; it may contain up to 30 percent of all species.
• Precipitation: The Amazon rainforest produces between 50 and 75 percent of the world’s precipitation through transpiration. Rainfall in the Western United States and Central America is influenced by moisture from the Amazon.
• Carbon storing potential: Massive amounts of carbon are sequestered by the 390 billion trees that make up the Amazon rainforest in their leaves, branches, and trunks. About 86 billion tonnes of carbon are stored in forests or more than a third of the carbon stored by tropical forests worldwide.
• Climate control: The hydrological system of the Amazon plays a significant part in preserving the local and global climate. Because of the hydrological cycles that depend on the forests, the Amazon’s canopy cover plays an important role in regulating temperature and humidity and is intricately linked to regional climate patterns.
• Medicinal knowledge: Ingredients from the Amazon rainforest are used in one-fourth of all western medicine. The Amazon provides 70% of the plants that are effective against cancer cells.
• Air purifier: With its extensive vegetation, which continuously absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, it serves as a giant air purifier.