Find out why a forest in South America is vital for the air you breathe in Jersey.
The Amazon Rainforest is a vast, tropical world that covers over five million square kilometres. It is often called the ‘Lungs of the Earth’ because its billions of trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. This process, called photosynthesis, is vital for keeping our atmosphere (the layer of gases around Earth) healthy. Without the Amazon, the planet would warm up much faster because there would be more ‘greenhouse gases’ trapping heat.
This ecosystem (a community of living things) is also the most biodiverse place on land. This means it has more types of plants and animals than anywhere else. Scientists find new species there almost every week! However, the Amazon is under threat from deforestation (the clearing of trees). People cut down the forest to make space for cattle farming or to sell the timber (wood). When the trees are gone, the ‘lungs’ stop working, and many animals lose their homes.
Jersey might be small, but we have a big connection to the Amazon through Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. They work hard to protect endangered animals in South America and teach people how to save the rainforest. By supporting conservation, people in the Channel Islands are helping to keep the world’s lungs breathing.
