The people

Around 30 million people call the Amazon home, including indigenous groups, rubber tappers, subsistence farmers and city dwellers. Outside major cities, most people in the Amazon make their living through farming, fishing, hunting, and gathering fruit and nuts.

Indigenous people

There are nearly three million indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest, from over 300 different indigenous groups. Some still live in voluntary isolation from the outside world.

About 180 different indigenous languages are spoken in the Brazilian Amazon alone.

About 9% of the Amazon’s population is made up of indigenous people

Rubber tappers

Rubber tapping is a traditional process for extracting natural latex from native rubber trees in a way that doesn’t harm the rainforest. Many Amazonians make their living this way, including families in the Sky Rainforest Rescue project area.

Sustainably harvesting products from the rainforest is known as extractivism. Other important extractivist activities in the Amazon include Brazil nut and açaí harvesting, which provide livelihood for many rainforest people.

Subsistence farmers
Many Amazonians make their living through subsistence farming or a combination of farming and other activities, like fishing and extractivism. Important subsistence crops include manioc, beans and rice.

Traditionally, farmers use slash-and-burn techniques to clear land for cultivation. Sky Rainforest Rescue is supporting projects in Acre state to help communities use new techniques that don’t harm the rainforest and minimise the impact on the climate.

City dwellers
While there are villages scattered across the Amazon region, most people live in a handful of larger cities on the banks of the Amazon and other major rivers. Amazonian cities share many characteristics with cities here in Europe, such as busy roads and tall skyscrapers.

Manaus (Brazil) is the largest city in the Amazon, with a population of over 1.6 million.

Industries   
Major industries that operate in the Amazon include:

• cattle ranching and large-scale agriculture.
• logging (both legal and illegal).
• infrastructure (roads, waterways, power lines and dams).
• utilities (oil and gas extraction).
• mining.
• fishing.

Unfortunately, many of these activities harm the rainforest and the people, animals and plants that depend on it.

That’s why part of our work involves engaging with policymakers and international bodies to promote sustainable options for industry and development that reduce impact on the rainforest and its inhabitants.