AMAZON RAINFORESTS (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: The recent study, "Critical Slowing Down of the Amazon Forest After Increased Drought Occurrence," noted that between 2001 and 2019, the Amazon experienced three "one-in-a-century" droughts, with climate change likely to intensify these events.

Amazon Rainforests

• Largest Rainforest: The Amazon is the world's largest rainforest, surpassing the combined size of the next two largest rainforests in the Congo Basin and Indonesia.
• Distribution: The majority of the forest, 60%, is in Brazil, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
• Bounded by:

oThe Guiana Highlands to the north,

oAndes Mountains to the west, 

oBrazilian central plateau to the south, 

oAtlantic Ocean to the east.

• Coverage: Approximately 6.9 million square kilometers, the Amazon Basin is equivalent in size to the contiguous United States and spans about 40% of the South American continent.
• Vegetation: Many species of myrtle, laurel, palm, and acacia, as well as rosewood, Brazil nut, and rubber tree
• Major wildlife: Jaguar, manatee, tapir, red deer, capybara and many other types of rodents,
• National Parks: Yasuni National Park (Ecuador), Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve (Brazil), Tumucumaque National Park (Brazil), Amacayacu National Natural Park (Colombia) etc.