Every summer Population Education is fortunate to host interns from around the U.S. These students bring their talents and passions to the PopEd program by completing a wide variety of projects. The following blog was written by one of PopEd’s 2025 summer interns.
The Amazon rainforest is essential to Earth’s climate, biodiversity, water systems, and cultures, making its protection critical in today’s world. Given the impacts of climate change and so many other far-reaching environmental issues, it’s important to understand why we should care about the Amazon rainforest and Amazon rainforest conservation.
The Amazon’s Biodiversity
The Amazon Rainforest stretches across 2 million square miles in nine South American countries, making it the largest tropical rainforest in the world and it is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. The Amazon is home to around 10 percent of all known species on Earth. Wildlife in the Amazon includes animals like jaguars, toucans, poison dart frogs, as well as thousands of different tree and plant species. And while the Amazon’s biodiversity is certainly beautiful, it’s also essential
Decomposers in the Amazon
The plants and animals in the Amazon help enrich the rainforest’s soil with nutrients. The tens of thousands of decomposers, like fungi, insects and microbes, break down fallen leaves, plants and trees, and dead organisms. This diverse group is key to returning vital nutrients to the soil and enriching it for future plant growth. The wide variety of plant species create unique root systems. These stabilize the soil and reduce erosion.
Pollinators and the Amazon
The Amazon rainforest ecosystem is also key to maintaining pollinator populations. Like the decomposers, Amazon pollinators are a heavily diverse bunch. The wide variety of pollinators support the reproduction of the Amazon’s unique plant species, many of which are important to keep the forest, and humans, alive. Some of these pollinators are bats, bees, butterflies, and birds.
The interactions between these organisms, and Amazon biodiversity overall, help ensure the forest can sustain itself over time.
Rainforests and the Global Water Cycle
Rainforests help regulate rainfall patterns. The vast numbers of trees release moisture into the air through transpiration, and this contributes to regional and even global rainfall.
Like with many systems, when one part of the water system is damaged, the effects can ripple out and hurt the whole system. Deforestation in the Amazon is a huge threat to the health of the water cycle. Less trees means less tree cover. And less tree cover means less moisture released into the atmosphere, which can affect rainfall in regions far away. A reduction in precipitation can affect farming, water supplies, and even the survival of various species.
The health of the Amazon rainforest directly influences weather patterns, sea levels, and greenhouse gas concentrations. When the rainforest is damaged, it leads to less rainfall in South America especially, which can affect food production.
The Amazon and the Global Climate
The Amazon rainforest helps stabilize the Earth’s climate. It stores from 100-120 billion metric tons of carbon, which is the equivalent to roughly 10 years’ worth of global fossil fuel emissions. Trees in the Amazon release around 20 billion tons of water into the atmosphere each day, which cools the planet and promotes rainfall. When large areas of the rainforest are cut down or burned, stored carbon is released – a large instigator of climate change. As more carbon is released into the air and there are fewer trees left to absorb it, global temperatures rise, polar ice melts, and sea levels increase.
Protecting the rainforest is one of the most important things we can do to slow down climate change and build a more sustainable future. Globally, forests absorb around one-third of the carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels every year, and the Amazon accounts for almost a quarter of the carbon storage. As such, the Amazon’s protection is essential to Earth’s overall climate stability. In recent years, Amazon deforestation rates have decreased slightly due to conservation efforts, but large portions of the forest are still being cleared for things like cattle ranching, mining, and agriculture.
The Amazon’s Cultural Significance
More than 400 Indigenous groups live in the Amazon rainforest, and many have been in the region for thousands of years. Among them are groups like the Yanomami, who live in the northern Amazon near the Brazil-Venezuela border, and the Kayapo, who protect large areas of forest in central Brazil. These communities know the land better than anyone, from its medicinal plants to sustainable farming practices that have been passed down through generations. The forest isn’t just their home, but a sacred and living place that is part of their culture, identity, and survival. When the rainforest is destroyed, Indigenous peoples not only lose their home, but also their languages and traditions.
Kayapo Fire Warriors: Following a training on fire-fighting techniques for brush fires, Kayapo youth perform a traditional dance.
Respecting Indigenous rights and hearing their voices in conservation efforts is another large part of trying to preserve the Amazon. The Kayapo people in Brazil have used surveillance technology and partnerships to protect millions of acres of rainforest from illegal logging and mining. In Ecuador, the Kichwa community of Sarayaku has started the concept of “Living Forest,” which sees the forest as a living being with rights. This movement has successfully fought against oil drilling in their territory. Across the Amazon, Indigenous people are leading practices that are proving to be effective strategies for conserving biodiversity and maintaining forest health.
Why the Amazon Rainforest Matters
Like many global challenges we are facing, the future of the Amazon is closely connected to our own. It affects us all. The Amazon rainforest plays a role in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the stories we tell, and the future we imagine. Protecting the Amazon is about protecting a living system that helps keep life going on Earth. By learning about the rainforest, practicing sustainability, and listening to Indigenous peoples, we can be part of the solution. Protecting the Amazon is protecting the planet.
Are you an educator looking to teach about rainforests? PopEd has rainforest lesson plans for all ages: World of Difference: The Amazon (grades 3-5), World of Difference (grades 6-8), Go for the Green (grades 9-12).
Image credits: Amazon plants (Amazon Rainforest by Felipe Neves is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); Protest sign (YouthLedClimateStrike_BlackRock_IMG_7852-1 by rawEarth is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.); Kayapo forest fighters (Kayapo Fire Warriors in Brazil by USAID U.S. Agency for International Development is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)