Amazon rainforest facing savannah threat

A new review of the Amazon rainforest by conservation group WWF has claimed that the region could be turned into savannah by deforestation and climate change, causing massive knock-on effects to the world’s biodiversity as a whole. The organisation’s climate-modelling research has shown that the area is likely to become warmer and drier, leading to a decrease in precipitation over much of the Amazon and devastating species.

Massive levels of unregulated deforestation and the burning of timber, along with the burning of fossil fuels, is negating the rainforest’s capacity as a carbon dioxide sink, a situation which could see between 30% and 60% of the area becoming dry savannah in future decades.

"A changing climate poses a substantial threat to the Amazon forests, which contain a large portion of the world's biodiversity. Threats here translate into threats to biodiversity at large," said Beatrix Richards, Forests Expert at WWF. "The world needs to urgently evaluate vulnerability to climate risks and integrate them into biodiversity conservation efforts."

"Both the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation must be urgently and significantly reduced in order to save the world's biodiversity and people from catastrophic climate change," added Giulio Volpi, coordinator of WWF's Climate Change Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Here in Curitiba, there is a unique opportunity to address the deadly combination of deforestation and climate change. Amazon countries need to commit to stop deforestation, for the benefit of present and future generations."