Until I moved to the Amazon, I assumed a sapling would grow into a tree as long as it had water, sunshine and decent soil. Now I am starting to realise the survival of plants needs political nourishment too. And that is sorely lacking.
That’s true here in Brazil, though there have been some encouraging signs of late. It was true when I lived in the UK, since when things have, if anything, been getting worse. It is probably the case just about everywhere now. But it feels of particular concern in the rainforest because this is where plants grow the fastest, take up carbon most quickly and play an outsized role in climate stabilisation.
