Importance to Earth

The Amazon acts as a massive carbon sink, storing approximately 150-200 billion metric tons of carbon. It plays a crucial role in regulating global temperatures and weather patterns through evapotranspiration and cloud formation.

While often called "the lungs of the Earth," the Amazon produces about 20% of the world's oxygen through photosynthesis. However, it also consumes much of this oxygen through respiration, making the net contribution more complex.

The Amazon contains approximately 10% of all known species on Earth, with many still undiscovered. This biodiversity provides ecosystem services, genetic resources, and potential solutions to global challenges like disease and food security.

The Amazon generates its own rainfall through the water cycle, with trees releasing moisture that forms clouds and returns as rain. This process influences weather patterns across South America and beyond.

Countless medicines have been derived from Amazonian plants, and many more potential treatments remain undiscovered. Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants is invaluable for pharmaceutical research.

Beyond direct resources, the Amazon provides ecosystem services worth trillions of dollars annually, including carbon storage, water regulation, and pollination services that support agriculture.