We cannot tackle the climate crisis without the Amazon’s vital life-sustaining role. Central South American Rainforest Brazil has got the largest parts of Amazonian rainforests, including 56,000 plant, 1700 bird, 578 mammal, 651 reptile and 695 amphibian species. Deforestation and fire are once again on the increase, and protected areas and indigenous lands face increasing threats. Equators rainforests are also known for the highest number of orchid species in the world - there are 4000 of them. The Amazon is under siege like never before. Not just for food, water, wood and medicines, but to help stabilise the climate, playing a critical role in global and regional carbon and water cycles. People around the world, as well as locally, depend on the Amazon. However, tragically, because huge parts of the forest are being destroyed so fast, we may never know all the riches it holds.
Our research shows that, on average, a 'new' species of animal or plant is being discovered in the Amazon every 3 days. Despite covering only around 1% of the planet’s surface, the Amazon is home to 10% of all the wildlife species we know about – and probably a lot that we don’t know yet. South America’s Amazon contains nearly a third of all the tropical rainforests left on Earth.
It is located across South America and spans across Brazil. Helping Maasai People and Wildlife to Live in Harmony The Amazon is the worlds largest rainforest, covering over 5.5 million square kilometers.As of 2020, the Amazon has 526 million hectares of primary forest, which accounts for nearly 84 of the region's 629 million hectares of total tree cover. Protecting Vital Wildlife Habitats in the Antarctic The Amazon is the world's biggest rainforest, larger than the next two largest rainforests in the Congo Basin and Indonesia combined.Pocketed throughout the coastal stretch of forest there are a few pockets of rainforest that make the region quite unique. Our work on sustainable economic policy Extending from Alaska down to Northern California, the Pacific Temperate Rainforest ecoregion is considered by the WWF as the planets largest temperate rainforest ecoregion in the world.