Dear EarthTalk: How are conservationists encouraging reforestation in the Amazon?
-- P.S., Tempe, Arizona
The Amazon rainforest covers 8 million kilometers of land and spans nine countries across South America, making it the world’s largest rainforest. The Amazon is home to 400 billion trees, contributing greatly to global carbon storage and climate regulation. In addition, 10% of the Earth’s known species live in the Amazon, which also provides essential food and medicine to nearby communities.
Despite such overwhelming benefits, the Amazon is gradually becoming barren land. According to Global Citizen, a leading international advocacy organization, 20% of the rainforest has been lost to mining, forest fires, agricultural expansion, land grabbing and cattle ranching in the past 50 years.
Indigenous communities have taken on initiatives to reforest and preserve the Amazon. Farmers have integrated agroforestry systems, a method of sustainable farming that preserves biodiversity. Local-led ecotourism is another way communities have worked to protect the Amazon’s acreage.
There are also larger global strategies protecting the Amazon. The Brazilian government launched the Amazon Fund, which has raised over $1.4 billion from contributing countries across the world. And experts are improving technology to monitor deforestation. The Colombian Amazon is being observed by an AI-powered satellite and drones to prevent illegal deforestation.
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EarthTalk is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk.