Amazon Rainforest Deforestation Essay

The amazon rainforest is the earths largest rainforest. It is a vast region that covers about 40% of South America and is full of diversity and beauty. The rainforest holds about 90-140 metric tons of carbon that helps steady local and global climate. However, in the section that is in Peru, gold mining and deforestation has negatively impacted the forest resulting in the climate to affect animals, plants and even people. More than 30 million people live in the amazon and depend on the resources it provides. They all rely on the amazons natural food, shelter and survival. Many organizations, agencies and people are trying to combat this issue to help restore our planet to what it once was. In Peru, many natives mine for gold (sometimes ‘illegally”) to support their families since it can “pay up to five times as much as farm labor”. However, it is done in the most diverse places on earth and “leaves barren moonscapes in place of thriving forests”. They mine in the Madre de Dios and Puno regions which happen to be part of the rainforest. According to the …show more content…
With agriculture, mining, illegal logging and construction being the causes of deforestation our ecosystems are in constant danger. Villagers that live in the forest are feeling the effects of climate change. The Puerto Luz village president said that the sun is much stronger now than it was 20 years ago. “Now it burns our skin, we get headaches at night, get sick.” Not only is the sun changing but so is the forest. Fruits are changing by ripening and rotting faster, everything living is getting smaller and animals that are hunted are found with worms making them not edible. The villager’s food sources are possibly depleting and soon it will be difficult for them to feed their families. Environmentalists fear that gold mining will leave reserves that are home to thousands of species little chance of