The Amazon rainforest

Though “save the rainforest” slogans have been around for decades, our planet’s tropical forests are under more serious threat than ever. The Amazon is the largest rainforest on Earth and harbours a dazzling array of species. Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is on the frontline of forest conservation in the southern edge of the Amazon in Brazil, where the forest is most threatened.

Many people make the mistake of thinking all tropical rainforests are more or less the same; but in fact, many kinds of plants and animals that you find in the Amazon, and how they interact with each other, are distinct from those found in the rainforests of South-east Asia and Africa.

Amazon quick facts:

• 1.4 billion hectares of forest
• The world’s largest river basin and the source of one-fifth of all free-flowing fresh water on Earth
• One in ten known species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest
• Threats – Soy plantation expansion, cattle ranching, unsustainable logging, human settlement
• Around 14% of the rainforest has already been deforested and this process continues at a rate of approximately 20,000km2 a year
• Amazon basin is home to 21 million people of which about 30% live in rural areas and 200,000 are indigenous
• The Amazon covers approximately 50% of Brazil and stores huge amounts of carbon dioxide.  Burning of forest, however, has released so much of this greenhouse gas that Brazil is now placed 4th in the world for CO2 emissions

IYB Issue: Deforestation

Humans are causing the destruction of the Earth’s tropical rainforests at an astonishing rate. It is estimated that 13 million hectares of forest – roughly the size of Greece– is lost every year. Deforestation is caused by a plethora of phenomenon, from small-scale subsistence farms inching into the forest to vast soy or palm oil plantation expansion driven by global demand. Logging for timber is of course a huge cause of deforestation as well.

What you can do to protect the virgin forests?

Choose wood products that have the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) label on them, which means they have been made form sustainably harvested timber. Buy paper products that are recycled which reduces demand for timber from virgin forests.