The coronavirus has been described as the biggest challenge the world has faced since the Second World War. Yet while all eyes are on this devastating pandemic, the Amazon forest is burning to the point of becoming a planetary emergency.

In this episode Fredrik Moberg looks at deforestation and the looming risk of large-scale destruction in the Amazon and elsewhere – something we know is also linked to the spread of infectious disease from animals to humans.

Together with Ana Paula Aguiar from the Brazilian Institute for Space Research and David Armstrong McKay from Stockholm Resilience Centre we will find answers to questions like: How worried should we be? And what can we do about it?

Just want to listen? Here’s the podcast version:

Books and publications mentioned during the talk

The Great Derangement

The Mushroom at the End of the World

Tending the Wild

Braiding Sweetgrass

Nature News Feature on Amazon dieback

Contested frontiers in Amazonia

Financial Times: five books that explain the battle over the Amazon rainforest

About Rethink Talks

Rethink Talks is Stockholm Resilience Centre’s multimedia podcast series on resilience thinking and global change. It spotlights conversations between experts on a range of topics that highlight how resilience thinking and biosphere stewardship add value to current debates on for instance COVID-19.