An area the size of three football pitches is lost every minute in the Amazon due to deforestation. WWF has been working in the Amazon for 40 years and is at the forefront of efforts to protect the forests, species and people that call it home. Protecting the Amazon is no game, and you can take part in saving animals including the pink river dolphin and the macaw.
Make a symbolic macaw parrot adoption or choose from 100 other species from around the globe to support WWF’s conservation efforts in places like the Amazon.
As a gift, download ringtones for your mobile phone to show your support for the Amazon! Download:
17 % of the Amazon forest has been lost in the last 50 years.
Extensive cattle ranching accounts for 80% of current deforestation, while agriculture is largely responsible for the rest.
The vast majority of the deforestation can be found in the eastern and southeastern part of the Amazon (Brazil) in the so-called Arc of Deforestation, and the Northwestern brim of the Basin’s headwaters, primarily in Colombia and Ecuador.
Between 1999 and 2009, 1,200 species of plants and vertebrates were identified for the first time in the Amazon biome. Ranging from a coin-sized pink ringed frog to a 4-metre-long anaconda, the findings confirm the Amazon as one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
Learn some quick facts about some of the unique species found in the Amazon rainforest and make a symbolic adoption.
Many other frog species camouflage themselves in the wild, but the poison dart frog uses its brightly coloured skin to warn predators that it is unfit to eat. The frog's skin secretes a dangerous poison that can paralyze and even kill predators. There are more than 100 species of poison dart frogs, including those that live in the Amazon.
The Amazon rainforest is a bird lover's paradise, home to over a thousand different species, including the blue-and-yellow macaw. The vibrant colour and pattern of their feathers make them a popular species in the illegal pet trade, which has devastated populations of wild exotic birds.
The jaguars’ range, which once spanned from the southern United States down to the tip of South America, now jaguar's range on the north and central parts of the South American continent.
The Amazon River dolphin or Boto is a freshwater dolphin that inhabits the waterways of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America. It is the largest river dolphin species in the world.
1. Adopt an animal:
Your symbolic adoption could help save some of the world’s most threatened habitats and species, like those found in the Amazon.
2. Beware of the aquarium fish that you buy
If you are buying fish that have been taken from the wild in the Amazon River, make sure that you're not bringing a threatened species into your home and potentially contributing to its extinction.
3. Buy good wood
Big-leaf mahogany, a severely threatened species found in the Amazon Basin, is more at home in a rainforest than in your house. Despite conventions regulating its trade, this species is still making its way into countries such as the U.S. Make sure you are not buying wood products made from this tree – always check before buying, and prefer FSC-certified products.