The Amazon Rainforest is the earth’s most biodiverse region that is home to wildlife, lush trees, and breathtaking landscapes. It is also the largest rainforest in the world, spanning two million square miles in northern South America. However, beneath this picturesque beauty, the Amazon Rainforest has been slowly depleting due to deforestation. Did you know that almost 17% of the Amazon Rainforest has been destroyed over the last 50 years? Although this number may seem small, a group of environmentalists predict that deforestation can destroy about 60% of the Amazon Rainforest by 2030.
So, why should we care about deforestation that is affecting the Amazon Rainforest?
What is Deforestation?
To begin, deforestation is when forests are destroyed by cutting trees without replanting them. The most common reason for deforestation is to clear the land to make farms and ranches. In addition, the trees are used for firewood and lumber to make room for cities. Deforestation threatens biodiversity because it destroys habitats and endangers ecosystems. To add to this, it also contributes to climate change because trees absorb and store carbon dioxide. Thus, if we keep cutting down trees, the carbon dioxide stored in the trees will be released back which contributes to climate change.
Why Should WE Care?
The Amazon Rainforest provides the world with a multitude of benefits:
- Medicine
For millennia, people have used insects and plants to make medicine. For hundreds of years, the Indigenous tribe called Yanomamo have used plants to cure diseases, and many of their observations have been used in western medicine. It is believed that less than 1% of flowering plant species have been studied in detail for their medicinal potential. Thus, the Amazon Rainforest may have natural cures for some diseases that are present in our world today! However, if the Amazon Rainforest slowly depletes, then these natural remedies will be left undiscovered!
- Carbon Storage & Climate Stability
Deforestation and climate change are altering the Amazon Rainforest’s ability to take in carbon. Over the past 150 years, humans have continually pumped tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels, using gas, etc. The Amazon Rainforest consists of over 400 billion trees that absorb great amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Did you know that rainforests stabilize the world’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere? Thus, if deforestation continues to destroy the Amazon’s trees, then there will be significant amounts of carbon lingering in our atmosphere which is incredibly harmful to our planet.
- The Biodiversity
The Amazon Rainforest is the most biodiverse terrestrial place on the planet. Did you know that there are over three million species that reside in the Amazon Rainforest? As the years pass, more and more biodiversity is at risk because ecosystems are encroached upon by human activity such as deforestation. Biodiversity is important as it provides medicines, food, and helps to control the climate. Did you know that aspirin and thousands of other medicines are derived from nature? In fact, nearly half of prescription drugs are made from plants and microorganisms! In addition, biodiversity regulates our climate! Forests, wetlands and other habitats help to regulate greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and reduce the impact of floods or droughts! Thus, it is important to protect the biodiversity around us!
- Tourism
Ecotourism, which refers to responsible travel using sustainable transport to natural areas, conserving the environment and improving the well-being of local people, is becoming popular in the world. The Amazon is one of the best natural wonders to do ecotourism and produces over $11.6 million USD per year. This money benefits the economy, and also educates people on the importance of taking care of the Amazon Rainforest. The revenue generated by ecotourism also provides jobs, homes, and better quality of living to local people!
Although the Amazon Rainforest only covers around 1% of the planet’s surface, it provides us with a plethora of benefits! The Amazon Rainforest is reaching an irreversible tipping point and thus, it is important to inform ourselves about deforestation and its effects on the environment!
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