Fast Facts

FAST FACTS ON THE AMAZON

Astounding Biodiversity and Habitat Figures

  • The biodiversity of the tropical rainforest is immense. Scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than they have of how many species there are on Earth!
  • More than half of the world's estimated 10 million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical rainforests.
  • Less than 1% of its millions of species have been studied by scientists for their possible uses.
  • The Amazon basin is home to over 2,500 species of fish, more species than are recorded for the entire Atlantic Ocean.
  • A typical four square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies.
  • A single pond in Brazil can sustain a greater variety of fish than is found in all of Europe's rivers.
  • A single rainforest reserve in Peru is home to more species of birds than are found in the entire United States.
  • One single tree in Peru was found to harbor forty-three different species of ants - a total that approximates the entire number of ant species in the British Isles.

The Unfortunate Reality

  • Rainforests used to cover 14% of the earth's land surface; now they only cover 6%.
  • Every second, a slice of rainforest the size of a football field is mowed down. That's 86,400 football fields of rainforest per day, or an area equivalent to the size of Manhattan.
  • Deforestation in the Amazon comes primarily from: cattle ranching, slash and burn agriculture, the paper industry, commercial farming of soy, palm oil, beef, timber and bio-fuels.
  • Wealthy nations drive the demand for tropical timber, and cash-strapped governments often grant logging concessions at a fraction of the land’s true value.
  • Over the last decade, deforestation through cattle ranching alone is estimated to have emitted roughly two years’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions from the United States.
  • In 2005, warmer Atlantic waters turned the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, into a net emitter of CO2 when it is normally a carbon sink.
  • Up to 30 percent of animals and plants face an increased risk of extinction if global temperatures rise 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in coming decades.

Why We Care

It regulates our atmosphere and can help prevent global warming: The Amazon Rainforest is described as the "Lung of our Planet" because it continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen. More than 20 % of the oxygen on Earth is produced in the Amazon Rainforest.

It is home to 20 million people and over 400 indigenous groups: For example, The Waimiri Atroari of the Brazilian Amazon use 32 plant species in the construction of hunting equipment alone. Each plant has a specific role according to its physical and chemical properties.

Its plants are important for medical research: Of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer, 70% are found only in rainforests.

It has the world's largest river basin: The Amazon is the source of one-fifth of all free-flowing fresh water on Earth.

What Can Be Done

  • Sustainable logging and harvesting practices need to be encouraged and implemented to prevent exponential damage.
  • The international carbon markets must recognize the need to include forestry offsets from reduced deforestation in their schemes.
  • Corporations must be pressured to only purchase timber, leather, and other goods from areas that are sustainably managed. See Nike, Timberland, and Kimberly-Clark for examples.


Facts gathered from the following references

 

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