Geography
State the reasons behind the depletion of the Amazon rainforest.
South America
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Answer
Today the area under the Amazon rainforest or Selvas is rapidly declining because of the following reasons:
- Shifting cultivation along with reckless human activities such as ranching, mining, logging and urbanisation.
- In the recent past, forest fires have become the biggest threat to the Amazon rainforest. Sometimes, the forest continues to burn for a long time, thus reducing vast reserves of oxygen.
- Millions of trees in the Amazon have been lost to logging and fires in recent years.
- In the name of development, mining and logging are active in the region while the forest is paying a very heavy price. The forest dwellers remain mere spectators to the vanishing habitat.
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