Threats to the rainforest

About a fifth of the Amazon rainforest has already been lost to deforestation. This remarkable part of the world remains under threat from:

• clearing of forest for cattle ranching and agriculture.
• infrastructure development, including roads and hydroelectric dams.
• mining, in particular gold and bauxite (the main component of aluminium).
• unsustainable logging (both legal and illegal).
• oil prospecting and extraction.
• slash-and-burn agricultural practices.
• climate change.

This destruction of the Amazon rainforest has serious implications for both people and the environment, in South America and far beyond.

Read more about the causes of deforestation on WWF’s website