FACTS.
In the past 20 years, an area of the rainforest the size of France has been destroyed. Between 2001 and 2020, the Amazon lost over 54.2 million hectares of forest – almost one-tenth of its total area. In Brazil, which contains 60 % of the Amazon rainforest, about 17 % of the original forest had been deforested by 2022 (source).
According to data from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), almost one-fifth of the Amazon forests have been completely lost, with another fifth degraded (source).
Who & what is really being affected?
The Amazon is home to more than one-tenth of all animal species that share the planet with us. (source) However, by burning the rainforest, all these living beings are losing their home – or even their lives. In recent years alone, vast numbers of jaguars, caimans, sloths, and many other incredible creatures have lost the places where they could live freely. The livestock and timber industries have destroyed an area of forest the size of France. That’s equivalent of burning all Czech national parks 455 times over.
But it’s not “just”animals who live in the Amazon rainforest. More than 1.5 million Indigenous people (ancient tribes) call it home. (source) The destruction of the forest means the destruction of their home. Can you imagine someone suddenly coming to your city, ordering you to move away, and then burning it all down? That’s what these people are facing.
And last but not least, Amazon's trees and the ecosystem around them, help cool the climate both locally and across South America. Intact forests store large amounts of carbon. Trees also release vast volumes of water vapor into the atmosphere, which lowers the surface temperature and near-surface air above and around the forest. By releasing vapor that serves as condensation nuclei for droplets, trees help form clouds – reflecting more sunlight and contributing to surface cooling. Evapotranspiration (the conversion of liquid water into vapor) also helps trigger the onset of the rainy season. The so-called “flying rivers” supply rainfall to vast areas far beyond the forest itself – including southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina. (source)
Who is responsible for deforestation?
The Amazon is home to more than one-tenth of all animal species that share the planet with us. (source) However, by burning the rainforest, all these living beings are losing their home – or even their lives. In recent years alone, vast numbers of jaguars, caimans, sloths, and many other incredible creatures have lost the places where they could live freely. The livestock and timber industries have destroyed an area of forest the size of France. That’s equivalent of burning all Czech national parks 455 times over.
But it’s not “just”animals who live in the Amazon rainforest. More than 1.5 million Indigenous people (ancient tribes) call it home. (source) The destruction of the forest means the destruction of their home. Can you imagine someone suddenly coming to your city, ordering you to move away, and then burning it all down? That’s what these people are facing.
And last but not least, Amazon's trees and the ecosystem around them, help cool the climate both locally and across South America. Intact forests store large amounts of carbon. Trees also release vast volumes of water vapor into the atmosphere, which lowers the surface temperature and near-surface air above and around the forest. By releasing vapor that serves as condensation nuclei for droplets, trees help form clouds – reflecting more sunlight and contributing to surface cooling. Evapotranspiration (the conversion of liquid water into vapor) also helps trigger the onset of the rainy season. The so-called “flying rivers” supply rainfall to vast areas far beyond the forest itself – including southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina. (source)