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The Amazon |
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The Amazon rainforest is located in South America. It is named after the Amazon River, which is the largest river in the world. |
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The Amazon rainforest includes parts of 8 countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as French Guiana, which is a department of France. |
The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest. More than half the Amazon rainforest is located in Brazil. |
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The Amazon rainforest is believed to contain more species than any other ecosystem in the world. As much as a third of the planet's land-based species are thought to live in the Amazon region. |
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While some of the most famous animals in the Amazon rainforest are large: |
Jaguar - the largest cat in the Americas |
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Tapir |
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Harpy eagle - the largest raptor in the world |
Macaws |
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Poison dart frogs |
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Anaconda |
Most are very tiny. |
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The Amazon rainforest is also home to indigenous people, some of whom live in tribes. |
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Traditional indigenous people have great knowledge of the forest, including plants and animals. |
Shaman, or traditional medicine-men, use plants to heal people. But shaman are disappearing as the Amazon rainforest is cut down. |
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There are other reasons the Amazon is important. |
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Trees and other plants in the Amazon absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, helping fight climate change. |
The Amazon creates large amounts of rainfall, which provides water for agriculture and electrity generation. |
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The Amazon influences global weather patterns. |
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But as the Amazon rainforest is cut down, these benefits are lost. |
About 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has been destroyed since 1970. |
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The main reason for deforestation is agriculture. People cut down the Amazon rainforest to raise cattle and plant crops like soybeans. |
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The Amazon rainforest is also logged for timber. |
Fire is a big problem in the Amazon, too. Usually fires are set by people who want to clear rainforest for farms and ranches. |
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Warmer ocean temperatures in the Atlantic can cause bad droughts in the Amazon, which make fires much worse. |
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In 2005 and 2010, the Amazon rainforest had the worst drought ever recorded. Giant rivers dried up and millions of acres of forest burned. |
But recently there has also been some good news for the Amazon. |
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Since 2004, the deforestation rate has fallen by a lot in Brazil. There are several reasons. |
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The government has set up more parks to protect rainforests. |
The government is also using satellites to monitor the Amazon. This has improved enforcement of environmental laws and people who deforest have been punished. |
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Environmentalists have put pressure on companies not to cut down rainforests. |
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Indigenous people have protected rainforest in their territories. |
Now other countries like Peru and Ecuador are starting to follow Brazil. |
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At the same time countries like Norway, Germany, Britain, France, and the United States are trying to help by providing money and technology to reduce deforestation. |
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Still a lot must still be done to ensure the Amazon rainforest is around for kids in the future. |
There are things you can do to help. |
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Tell your friends and parents about why the Amazon is important and what is happening to it. |
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Be sure to recycle and reduce energy use. Try to produce as little garbage as possible. |
Ask questions about the products you and your family buys. Do these products harm the environment? |
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Join an organization that is working to protect the Amazon. |
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If we all work together, the Amazon can be saved. |
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This tour was created by Rhett A. Butler, the founder of mongabay.com |
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