The Lungs of the Earth

The world’s forests, along with its oceans, absorb enormous amounts of the carbon dioxide that circulates in the atmosphere. They are, effectively, the Earth’s lungs. But, between 1990 and 2015, the world lost 129 million hectares of forests, destroyed by chainsaws, fire and cement. Peter Holmgren, the director of the Centre for International Forest Research (CIFOR) said that almost all fires detected in Indonesia are caused by man for farming reasons. A fire is the cheapest way to empty out the land for agriculture. Fires can be ignited by individuals who control vast plantations, or small farmers working in their own parcels of land with traditional methods.