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Amazon Rainforest Day
The Amazon Rainforest represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests, and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world, with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species.
Unfortunately, this area is a high-risk zone for deforestation, degradation due to unsustainable agricultural practices, and severe droughts killing off large amounts of vegetation in the worst affected areas.
Additionally unprecedented fires are ravaging the Amazon – more than 74,000 fires this year, which is an 84% increase over last year’s count. This is an international tragedy. The indigenous tribes residing in the areas being incinerated have been putting up a long fight to protect their habitat (which, quite literally, constitutes the planet’s lungs given the amount of CO2 it absorbs and oxygen it produces), often at the cost of their and their loved ones’ lives.
“If we can protect the Amazon, we can solve huge global challenges on how to produce real food, provide clean energy and restore climate hope…But if we lose the Amazon for profit, we lose everything”. – Alice Braga, Greenpeace.
- It is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, covering over five and a half a million square kilometres (1.4 billion acres).
- Over half of the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil but it is also located in other South American countries including Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Bolivia, Suriname and French Guiana.
- 10% of the world’s known species live in the Amazon rainforest.
- 20% of the world’s bird species live in the Amazon rainforest.
- It is home to around 2 and a half million different insect species as well as over 40000 plant species.
Unfortunately, this area is a high-risk zone for deforestation, degradation due to unsustainable agricultural practices, and severe droughts killing off large amounts of vegetation in the worst affected areas.
Additionally unprecedented fires are ravaging the Amazon – more than 74,000 fires this year, which is an 84% increase over last year’s count. This is an international tragedy. The indigenous tribes residing in the areas being incinerated have been putting up a long fight to protect their habitat (which, quite literally, constitutes the planet’s lungs given the amount of CO2 it absorbs and oxygen it produces), often at the cost of their and their loved ones’ lives.
“If we can protect the Amazon, we can solve huge global challenges on how to produce real food, provide clean energy and restore climate hope…But if we lose the Amazon for profit, we lose everything”. – Alice Braga, Greenpeace.
Climate change experts suggest that a 3 °C rise in world temperatures by the year 2010 would destroy around 75% of the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest Day is arranged through a collaboration of Amazon Watch, the National Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), and Extinction Rebellion in order to raise public awareness of the conservation issues facing the Amazon Rainforest area.
Of course, in addition to promoting the safety of the Amazon rainforest there are other ways to help such as:
By joining a subscription to Become Carbon Negative you will directly be helping planting tree activities – The Amazon rainforest is one of the many places where we are able to support tree-planting programs.
Amazon Rainforest Day is arranged through a collaboration of Amazon Watch, the National Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), and Extinction Rebellion in order to raise public awareness of the conservation issues facing the Amazon Rainforest area.
Of course, in addition to promoting the safety of the Amazon rainforest there are other ways to help such as:
- Reduce your paper and wood consumption
- Reduce your oil consumption
- Reduce your beef consumption
- Spread the word
- Donating to environmental causes
By joining a subscription to Become Carbon Negative you will directly be helping planting tree activities – The Amazon rainforest is one of the many places where we are able to support tree-planting programs.
