There is still hope for the Amazon Rainforest

The latest data shows, that deforestation of the Amazon has sunk to record low levels, since they started observing its shrinking.

The main reason of shrinking or deforestation of Amazon Rainforest are the ever growing human needs, such as settlements and agriculture. According to Wikipedia, in 1991 there was already 160,230 square miles (415,000 square km) of Amazon Rainforest gone and until 2000 the number rose to 226,640 square miles (587 square km). That is 64 percent larger then Germany or 84 percent of Texas. On the picture bellow, you can see consequences of Amazon deforestation in the state of Rondonia in Brazil.

But there seems to be a ray of light shinning towards Amazon Rainforest future. Brazil's National Institute for Space Research, started their annual measurement of deforestation in 1988, and they revealed that in the year 2011 the smallest area of the forest was cut down since the beginning of their observations. There was still 2478 square miles (6418 square kilometers) of the Amazon Rainforest stripped to the ground, but comparing to 2004 when deforestation was at its peak, it is a quite amazing 75% drop of forest clearance.

Dilma Rousseff, current President of Brazil, rejected 12 clauses of proposed law that would make shrinking of Amazon Rainforest even easier, further more she amend 32 other clauses, among them the requirement for large landowners to reforest illegally swiped areas. Hopefully, the all time low deforestation record will become an annual trend and the lung of the Earth, as Rainforest are sometimes called, will be able to once again take a deep breath and continue to care of our and descendants' well-being.