The Amazon rainforest is just over fifteen times the size of Sweden. On its northeastern edge is Belém, Brazil, which is hosting this year's climate summit, precisely to focus on the surrounding rainforest.
"There are many things that make the Amazon special. What I think most people are aware of is the great diversity of species. 13 percent of the land animals discovered on Earth are found in the Amazon," says Marielos Peña-Claros, chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon and professor of forestry at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Affects the weather
The Amazon's enormous surface area also affects the weather far beyond the forest's borders, and rain that falls in Texas and Uruguay often originates here.
These flying rivers, as they are called, extend all the way to the Andes and play a very important role in the water supply to cities there, says Peña-Claros, explaining that 93 percent of the drinking water in the giant city of Bogotá originates in the Amazon.
When these moisture flows have been disrupted, it has led to rationing in Colombia – and power outages in Ecuador, which uses hydroelectric power.
But the Amazon is not just a regional issue. The rainforest stores enormous amounts of carbon and still absorbs carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. But when the forest burns or is cut down, the opposite can happen.
In the past, the Amazon has always been a carbon sink, but now we are seeing examples of parts where it emits more carbon dioxide than it stores, says Peña-Claros.
Multiple threats
The rainforest faces several threats. Climate change has led to increased temperatures, as well as the length of the dry season. In 2023, hundreds of Amazon dolphins died, with drought being blamed. In 2024, tens of thousands of fires in the rainforest ravaged an area larger than Värmland.
You can also see that the trees are growing more slowly and it seems that mortality is increasing.
Although the situation for the Amazon is dire, there are also glimmers of hope. Deforestation in Brazil and Colombia has slowed, and Brazil’s development bank last year announced a goal of restoring six million hectares by 2030 – a $10 billion investment.
It has created momentum and you see more and more examples of forest restoration in the Amazon, says Marielos Peña-Claros.
Gustav Sjöholm/TT
Facts: Amazon
TT
The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest and river basin, covering approximately 40 percent of South America.
A third of the world's mammals and a fifth of the planet's birds are found only in this area.
Up to 200 billion tons of carbon are stored in the soil and vegetation.
The Amazon is also home to 410 ethnic groups, 80 of which remain completely isolated.
Just over a sixth of the rainforest has been converted to other land, mainly for agriculture. Another sixth is classified as degraded, as a result of fires and logging.
Source: Science Panel for the Amazon.
