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About Amazon:- • The Amazon is the greatest river in the world by so many measures; the volume of water it carries to the sea (approximately 20% of all the freshwater discharge into the oceans), the area of land that drains into it, and its length and width. It is one of the longest rivers in the world.
Importance of Amazon river:- As the drainage system of the Amazon Basin, the Amazon River and its approximately 1,100 tributaries play major roles in the ecology of the basin. Before roads and airstrips started appearing in the basin these waterways were the major access routes to the interior areas of Brazil and the northern half of South America. For example, the only way you can get to Iquitos, Peru, which is right on the Amazon River, is to board a plane or a boat. There are no roads to get there.
Origins and course of the river:- The Amazon River has its source high in the Peruvian Andes, at an elevation of 5,598 m. There, at a mere 192 km from the Pacific Ocean where it once flowed into, the Amazon River begins as a small tributary called the Carhuasanta. As it heads east, it flows into and becomes the Hornillos, which merges into the Apurimac, a major tributary that eventually joins the Ene, the Tambo and then the Ucayali.
After an initial drop in elevation, the Amazon River steadies its descent towards the Atlantic Ocean at a rate of 1.5 cm for every kilometre over a distance of over 6,400 km. In some places, the river reaches a width of 10 km, as far as 1,600 km upriver, and large ships can dock all the way up to Iquitos, Peru.
Wildlife and Marine life in Amazon:- The Amazon rainforest is the home of ove 300 species of mammals, thousands of freshwater fish, tens of thousands of trees and nearly a hundred thousand other plant species. Also there are so many species of insects that experts agree they will find them all! Some say it is 20,000. Others say it is nearer to millions! New species of wildlife are still being discovered today!
Problems regarding safety of wildlife and marine life:- • Unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade • Over 80% of marine pollution comes from land-based activities- • Oil • Fertilizers • Seas of garbage • Sewage disposal • Toxic chemicals
Deforestation Reasons for Deforestation- • Loss of biodiversity • Habitat degradation • Modified global climate • Loss of water cycling • Social impacts
Other Problems of Amazon river:- As the pressures afflicting the region grow in intensity, it is becoming increasingly clear that the price to be paid is not only loss of biodiversity and habitat – but also of a decreasing life quality for people. Reasons- • The price of development at all costs • Trade, the fuel of deforestation • Trade requires infrastructure
Solutions:- • Rehabilitation and increased productivity of formerly forested lands. • Expansion of protection areas. • Development based on concepts of sustainable use of some existing forest. • Land policy reform. • Law Enforcement.
What we’re doing in the Amazon:- • Promoting sustainable energy. • Tackling illegal and unsustainable logging • Better planning for roads, dams and other developments • Conserving Brazil’s Varzea wetlands • Reducing emissions from deforestation to tackle climate change • Helping improve forest management • Expanding protected areas across the Amazon • Sky Rainforest Rescue
