Countries Sharing The Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest is a wet broadleaf forest that takes up the majority of the South America’s Amazon basin. This rainforest covers an area of 2,123, 561.8 square miles. Because of its vast biodiversity, it stands to be the world’s largest rainforest. Many rivers including the Amazon River crisscross the forest. There is an estimate of 390 billion different trees, which are divided into 16,000 species found in the Amazon Rainforest and has been around for 55 million years. The forest flourished during the Eocene era allowing different species to evolve and survive. The vast forest plays a critical role in keeping the local and regional climate in check. The Amazon rainforest spreads across nine countries namely Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Guyana, and French Guiana. Some of these countries hold a bigger part of the Amazon forest than others.

Countries Sharing The Amazon Rainforest

Brazil

Also known as the Brazilian Amazon, the Amazon rainforest in Brazil takes 64% coverage. It is found in the heart of Brazil and contains different species of plants and animals. Animals like the Brazilian tapir, the giant anteater, spider monkeys, and the Amazon pink dolphin are found here. A protection network was started in 2000 to curb deforestation.

Peru

With species like the blue and yellow macaw found here, the Amazon rainforest in Peru takes a 10% of the land cover in Peru. It has the second largest portion of the Amazon rainforest after Brazil. Many species of animals including kinkajou, squirrel monkey, and jaguar live in the rainforest. Many plant species are also found here. To curb illegal logging, the Forestry and Wildlife Law was amended in 2000 to protect the rainforest.

Colombia

The Amazon Rainforest covers an area of about 6% in Colombia. It is located in the southern Colombia and spreads across an area of 155,599.17 square miles.It stretches to the Brazilian and Venezuelan borders in the east. Rich biodiversity is found in the Colombian Amazon, and different species of plants and animals are found here. Many species of birds including the macaws and parrots, manakins, hummingbirds, and woodpeckers call this rainforest home. Protection measures have installed to protect the rainforest from deforestation and other dangers.

Bolivia

The Amazon covers an area of 229,985 square miles taking up 6% of the land in Bolivia. Due to excessive deforestation in the rainforest, the Certified Forest sector in Bolivia passed laws requiring the planting of trees in deforested areas. Illegal logging has become a threat despite the licenses granted firms in the timber industry. The rainforest in Bolivia also features many species of animals and plants. Some of the reptiles and amphibians found there include; freshwater turtles, venomous snakes, iguanas and poison dart frogs.

The Need To Save The Amazon

The Amazon rainforest hugely benefits humans, and so proper conservation of the rainforest should be practiced. Deforestation is the biggest enemy the rainforest faces and if not well addressed it could face extinction in the next 40 years. Thousands of animals and plants of different species also depend on the Amazon forest for survival, so protection of the rainforest is of vital importance.