Deforestation for agricultural expansion, mining, infrastructure projects, and other economic development is destroying vast swaths of the Amazon rainforest habitat.
Deforestation for agricultural expansion, mining, infrastructure projects, and other economic development is destroying vast swaths of the Amazon rainforest habitat. Satellite data shows over 17% of the original Amazon forest cover has been cleared, with rates of deforestation still on the rise in many areas. Just last year, over 11,000 square kilometers of pristine rainforest were mowed down—that’s an area larger than Jamaica wiped out in 12 months.