PT 
EN 
Why the Amazon Matters to the Planet — And Why Its Protection Can’t Wait
The Amazon Rainforest is more than a biome. It is a planetary life-support system. Stretching across nine countries and home to the world’s largest tropical forest, the Amazon regulates global climate, protects biodiversity found nowhere else on Earth, and sustains the cultural and spiritual heritage of over 400 Indigenous peoples. Its preservation is not a regional concern — it is a global necessity.
Yet the Amazon is approaching a critical tipping point. Scientists warn that continued deforestation, illegal mining, fires, and climate-driven droughts could push vast areas of the forest from rainforest to dry savanna within decades. This shift would release enormous amounts of carbon, dismantle weather patterns across continents, and destabilize global climate systems.
Understanding the Amazon’s importance is essential to understanding why its defense — and the defense of those who protect it — must be a planetary priority.
A Global Climate Regulator
The Amazon stores between 150–200 billion metric tons of carbon, making it one of the most important carbon sinks on Earth. When trees are cut or burned, this carbon is released, fueling global warming.
But the forest is also one of the planet’s great “lungs,” absorbing CO₂ and releasing oxygen. Without the Amazon, today’s climate crisis would be significantly worse.
Worryingly, some regions of the forest have already begun emitting more carbon than they absorb — a signal that the tipping point is no longer theoretical.
A Rain Machine That Feeds Continents
The Amazon generates its own rain. Through evapotranspiration, trees release moisture that forms clouds, recycles rainfall, and transports water vapor across the continent.
This atmospheric river shapes rainfall in:
• Brazil’s agricultural heartlands
• The Andes
• Argentina and Paraguay
• Even parts of Central America
• Jane Selma – Quilombo do São Francisco do Matapi
• Joelma – Quilombo do Rosa
• Wendel – Igarapé do Lago
• Creuza – Quilombo do Curiaú
• Marielle – Nossa Senhora do Desterro
As the forest weakens, droughts intensify far beyond the Amazon Basin — affecting food security, energy systems, and economies across Latin America.
The Greatest Biodiversity on Earth
The Amazon is home to:
• 10% of all known species on Earth
• Millions of species yet to be identified
• The world’s largest freshwater system
This biodiversity underpins global resilience, medicine, and food systems. Each species lost is an irreplaceable link in the ecological chain.
A Cultural and Spiritual Home
Over 30 million people live in the Amazon, including more than 400 Indigenous nations whose stewardship has protected the forest for millennia.
Where Indigenous rights are secure, deforestation rates are significantly lower. Protecting their territories and their leaders is therefore a core climate action.
Yet environmental and Indigenous defenders face escalating violence. Criminal networks, illegal mining mafias, and political pressures have created one of the most dangerous regions in the world for those who safeguard nature.
A Forest Approaching Its Limits
Scientists warn that if 20–25% of the Amazon is destroyed, parts of it could permanently shift to dry savanna. We are already at approximately 17–18% deforestation.
Such a collapse would:
• Release vast amounts of carbon
• Disrupt global weather systems
• Accelerate warming
• Undermine global agriculture
• Increase fires and irreversible ecosystem loss
The stakes could not be higher.
RFM at COP30: Calling Global Attention to the Amazon
At COP30 in Belém — in the heart of the rainforest — RFM raised an urgent call for international attention and action for the Amazon and its defenders.
Through panels, testimonies, and direct engagement with negotiators, RFM highlighted:
• The rising threats faced by environmental and Indigenous defenders
• The critical role of civil society in monitoring and resisting environmental crime
• The need for climate finance that reaches frontline communities
• The global consequences of Amazon degradation
In Belém, we witnessed the courage of Indigenous women, youth, quilombola communities, and civil society leaders who continue defending their territories with little protection and limited resources. Their message was unmistakable:
The Amazon cannot survive without its defenders — and neither can we.
A Call for Planetary Responsibility
Protecting the Amazon is not optional. It is the foundation of a livable future. Governments, donors, and global institutions must act now to support community-led conservation, strengthen protection mechanisms, and ensure funding reaches the people safeguarding the forest every day.
The Amazon is a global treasure. Its defenders are global heroes.
Their protection must be a global priority.
#Amazon #SaveTheAmazon #AmazonRainforest #ClimateCrisis #ClimateAction #ClimateJustice #EnvironmentalDefenders #ProtectDefenders #IndigenousRights #IndigenousPeoples #ForestGuardians #Biodiversity #PlanetaryHealth #GlobalSouth #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateFinance #COP30 #LatinAmerica #SustainableFuture
