The Disappearance of the Last Paradise on Earth

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE LAST PARADISE ON EARTH

The beauty of the Amazon Rainforest is incredible. To see it, is to have an awe-inspiring experience.

“The Amazon Rainforest has evolved over millions of years to turn into the incredible complex environment” (Amazon Rainforest) It is a beautiful landscape filled with some of the most beautiful animal and plant species on earth (see figure 1) .and is one of the world's greatest natural resources. The Amazon Rainforest produces about 20% of the earth’s oxygen because its vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen. It has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet" (Amazon Rainforest). This rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and covers over a billion acres. The areas included would be Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, and Peru.

“Why is the Amazon Rainforest so important?” The Amazon is very ecologically important for many reasons. First of all, the rainforest has probably the largest collection of plant and animal species in the whole world. It is estimated that a single hectare (2.47 acres) of Amazon rainforest contains about 900 tons of living plants, including more than 750 types of trees and 1500 other plants (Rainforest Facts). The Amazon rainforest is considered the richest biological incubator in the world. Amazingly, the Andean mountain range and the Amazon jungle are the home to more than half of the world's species of flora and fauna; and are home to over 438,000 species, and many more are yet to be discovered (Rainforest Facts). These numbers alone should show the importance the Amazon Rainforest is to the whole world.

While Rainforests may be thought of as a plentiful place of green plants and unique animals; the Amazon rainforest is home to the mighty Amazon River. The Amazon River is considered the life force of the Amazon Rainforest and is the source of over two-thirds of all Earths freshwater that runs 4,000 miles across South America (Rainforest Facts). Its gigantic size means that it is home to as many species of fish as the diversity of the surrounding rainforest’s plant and animal species and more than 2,000 species have been identified so far. Unfortunately, deforestation of the forest is also affects the river, thus affecting the fish species that live in the river. Among the many other ecological importance’s, this river provides thousands of people with a means of survival and even the slightest change, like from deforestation, can disrupt the ecosystems (Rainforest Facts).

The Amazon Rainforest, like many other rainforest of the world, is being threatened with extinction. Rainforests used to cover 14% of the earth and now they cover only 6% (Rainforest Facts). Amazon rain forest is disappearing at an alarming rate. Just between 2000 and 2010 alone,