The Italian "cognitive pause" that has occupied all the media talking about the formation of the new government does not change the reality of the facts: the Amazon forest is fighting for its survival. And for ours.
Because the Amazon Forest is the home of an incredible number of living species: animals, plants, insects and human beings who have their own world, their own history different from what we call "modern".
Here are 8 reasons why we must keep writing, talking, shouting to the world that the future depends on the Amazon Rainforest.
Terrifying grandeur
The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world. It's so big that you can take the whole of the UK (including Ireland) and fit them in entirely. 17 times. It is so large that it crosses several states in South America including Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil. In particular, it covers 40% of its surface.
Source of food
80% of the food we eat comes from rainforests: fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. There they are located approximately 3000 different fruits. In the "advanced West" we only use 200.
House of men
The Amazon Rainforest is home to between 400 and 500 different indigenous groups. 50 of these tribes have never had contact with the outside world.
A name with historical roots
The Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana gave the Amazon his name after surviving an attack by a tribe of female warriors known as the 'Icamiabas.' In Orellana they were reminiscent of the proud Amazons of Greek mythology, hence the name.
One of the largest rivers
The famous Amazon River runs through the Amazon Forest for a length of 6400km. After the Nile it is the longest in the world.
Green, which cannot be greener
The Amazon rainforest is so crammed with vegetation that it takes rain over 10 minutes to reach the ground. Its vegetation is so dense that in many parts of the forest there is always total darkness at ground level. Sunlight does not penetrate.
The most varied place there is
National Geographic notes that the Amazon hosts the greatest biodiversity in the world. An ecosystem with more than 40.000 species of plants, 1.300 birds, 3.000 fish, 430 mammals and 2.5 million insects.
Global regulator
The Amazon is capable of stabilizing the world's climate. WWF reports that the rate of deforestation is closely linked to climate worsening. And here we return to the starting point: fires release into the atmosphere billions of tons of carbon contained with difficulty (and fortunately released gradually) by vegetation.
