Ben Cogan

Staff Writer

The Amazon, one of the largest rainforests in the world, continues to blaze with little signs of help from South America and the world. The Amazon rainforest has caught fire more than 80,000 times in this past year alone with the most recent fire starting in August and burning to this day.

The rain forest has now been on fire since the start of August and according to The Daily Express in that time there have been more than 9,500 fires that have tagged along. In this time, there has been little to no attempts to stop these fires and the attempts that have been made have yet to take place. A meeting between seven South American countries took place to sign a pact that would set up a disaster response network and satellite monitoring to ensure that no more fires ruin the forest. These countries include Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname and according to Colombian President Ivan Duque Márquez, “This meeting will live on as a coordination mechanism for the presidents that share this treasure – the Amazon”.

 Although these countries have all promised more unity and collaboration in the future, it has minimal impact on the current dilemma. This is thanks to internal turmoil with politics causing these countries to steer clear of helping the Amazon to deal with smaller issues. Lack of economic growth and disputes with other countries about gas lines are just a few of the problems the country struggles with.  According to The Hill, Bolivia have experienced all of these problems with no signs of them stopping and it is these issues that have preoccupied Bolivia and more from helping out and providing resources to solve worldwide issues like the rainforest.

The Amazon Rainforest is a worldwide treasure, adored for its wildlife and culture. In schools, students have enjoyed learning about the Amazon and the wildlife that inhabits it. Student Sam Cogan says, ̈ I have loved to learn about the Amazon, it is a cool place that should be preserved, it sucks that it is burning away ̈. Despite all the attention it has received from afar, when it faces a local problem, many people fail to act to preserve a major component in the fight against climate change. According to the New York Times, “[The Amazon] is a piece of natural art that slowly but surely is fading away and out of sight”.