Kevin Damasio

Dec 5, 2024 | agreenerlifeagreenerworld.net | Kevin Damasio

By Kevin DamasioUnder pressure after racking up Amazon deforestation records, Pará state is now targeting the bioeconomy. São Félix do Xingu, in the Amazon state of Pará, is a place of superlatives: it is the municipality with the second largest annual greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil, the second highest rate of deforestation over the last 15 years, and the largest cattle herd in the country. It also has some of the lowest levels of development in the Amazon region.

Nov 27, 2024 | news.mongabay.com | Kevin Damasio

In a groundbreaking expedition, researchers from Harvard and Amazonas State University began monitoring water quality and mercury contamination in the Amazon Basin’s largest tributary. The Madeira River Basin has been heavily impacted by human actions, such as hydropower plants, deforestation and illegal gold mining, which degrade its ecosystems. Initial results from Harvard reveal high levels of mercury in the Madeira, although still below the limit recommended by Brazil’s authorities.

Oct 11, 2024 | brasil.mongabay.com | Kevin Damasio |Rhett Butler

A Bacia do Rio Madeira possui a maior diversidade de peixes da Bacia Amazônica, com 1.406 espécies catalogadas, mas a interferência humana e a crise climática estão provocando um declínio significativo das populações de peixes. De acordo com os cientistas, as centrais hidrelétricas da Bacia do Madeira afetaram o ciclo hidrológico a jusante devido a oscilações irregulares, com impacto nos padrões migratórios dos peixes.

Jul 31, 2024 | news.mongabay.com | Kevin Damasio

The Madeira Basin has the most diverse fish life in the Amazon River Basin with 1,406 species catalogued, but human interference and the climate crisis are provoking a significant decline in fish stocks. According to scientists, the Madeira hydropower plants have affected the hydrological cycle downstream due to irregular pulses, impacting the migratory patterns of fish. These disturbances have reduced the annual catch of fishers by 39% in the municipality of Humaitá.

Jul 15, 2024 | news.mongabay.com | Kevin Damasio

Researchers have found that water quality in Brazil’s Negro River, the second-largest tributary of the Amazon, remains largely excellent, the result of a sparse human presence and strong conservation measures. The sampling of 50 sites along the main stream of the blackwater river was carried out to develop a water quality index (WQI) for this type of Amazonian river, which hasn’t been done before.