What causes tropical forest fires?

Rainforests are not naturally flammable. Fires are linked to deforestation, often driven by agricultural production.

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Brazil

Many of the fires take place in the Amazon and Cerrado regions, where commodities destined for large companies are produced.

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Indonesia

Clearing land for palm oil and pulp plantations is a major cause of fires in Indonesia.

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Photos by F.Martinho (Repórter Brasil, 2019) and N.Saputra (CIFOR, Indonesia, 2019)

IMPACTS

Health

Forest fires have a detrimental impact on human health…

Covid-19

The health impacts of fires are magnified by Covid-19.

Climate Change

The links between climate change and tropical forest fires.

Economic

Forest fires have negative economic consequences,…

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Academic Papers

Intergovernmental Reports

MAPPING FIRES AND DEFORESTATION

There are different methods and tools which are used to gather data on deforestation rates and fire detection. A variety of data sources are used depending on factors such as:

 

1. How deforestation and fires are defined;2. Different satellites’ ability to detect small areas of deforestation;3. The frequency with which data are updated4. Whether they generate national or international data5. If the data are official (produced by a public authority)
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