Everything is incredible on the Amazon. It is a mega biodiverse region filled with thousands of species in eight countries and one territory, occupying over half of Brazil. Over 30 million people live in this biome, and the population is as diverse as the scenery throughout the rainforest. There is so much variety in the Amazon, full of life and power. And there are various temporal layers overlying the region.
Although, the future of the Amazon is uncertain. During the past five decades, the economic model has borne a rate of degradation much more significant than human activities were capable of recovering from up to now. The changes in the Amazonian ecosystems and in the climate are the most emblematic distortions of this model. They have changed how the forest controls its fluctuations, ranging from changes in the atmosphere to rivers polluted with mercury from illegal mining. Around 20% of the forest is degraded. In recent years, the increase in deforestation shocked South America and the world after years of greater government control. The Amazon is global and connected to other biomes and exerts an influence on Planet Earth. Due to climate change, we face a complex challenge towards the future of the forest and all those who live there or depend on its resources and water.
The in-depth knowledge constructed by the original population throughout thousands of years has inspired other traditional people who live in the forest. They coexist with the animals, recognize hundreds of species of trees, and notice the increasing levels of the rivers as years go by. They are on the front lines dealing with the climate emergency. We must learn from them and from the scientists who live there and are from the Amazon how to respect and regenerate the biomes. Carrying out research studies, producing solutions, and new assets based on the rich genetics of the region, with many endemic species.
We cannot wait one or two decades anymore. We need a new socioeconomic development model in the Amazon based on a three-prong policy: scientific knowledge, practices and know-how from the traditional population, and the commitment to preserve a living forest. We need to provide more education and opportunities for the Amazonians to innovate. We know what needs to be done, we have the tools to do that. The time to completely stop deforestation is now.
The future of the Amazon is also our future. Each one of us will prosper from a regenerated Amazon. A tree named Hope dwells there. Let it supply lots of fruit to everyone.
Leonardo Menezes, curator
