Why is it important?

Climate change

Deforestation creates up to a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions - that’s as much as all the world’s cars, planes, trains and ships put together. In Acre alone, deforestation between 1996 and 2005 generated around 22 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.

Protecting the Amazon rainforest is vital in fighting global climate change.

Climate regulation

Rainforests help to regulate the climate by pumping large amounts of water vapour into the atmosphere, driving the regional water cycle. This acts like a global thermostat by cooling the air and generating rainfall. To maintain this function, rainforests need to keep as much of their lush tree cover as possible.

As the largest tropical rainforest in the world, the Amazon rainforest is hugely important for regulating climate and rainfall patterns in Latin America and far beyond.

Livelihoods and resources

The rainforest provides food, shelter and livelihoods for almost all of the 30 million people living in the Amazon. Its destruction threatens traditional ways of life and access to important resources.

The Amazon rainforest also provides a source of products that we value here in the UK, like cocoa, nuts, fruit and timber - not to mention the hundreds of plants used to treat illnesses, including cancer and heart problems.

Wildlife habitats

The Amazon rainforest fosters an incredible diversity of wildlife, and many species have yet to be discovered by science.

As many as 10% of all species on Earth live in the Amazon, including many threatened animals like jaguars, pink river dolphins and hyacinth macaws. These species depend on the preservation of their Amazon habitat.