The Amazon Rainforest is a national treasure
The Amazon Rainforest is formed by the association of many ecosystems. Its importance is recognized worldwide for its extent, biodiversity and abundance of biological, water and mineral resources.
The region stands out for being the place with the greatest biodiversity on the planet. Moreover, the Amazon is the largest Brazilian biome, covering around 59% of the country.
The length of the Amazon biome is 7.413.827 km2 traversing eight countries in South America: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname, in addition to the territory of French Guiana.
In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared conservation areas of the Amazon as a natural heritage of humanity.
Nine Brazilian states are part of the Amazon biome: the entire length of Amazonas, Roraima, Acre and Amapá; almost the entire length of Pará and Rondônia; and part of Mato Grosso, Maranhão and Tocantins.
Some numbers
The area of the Amazon biome corresponds to 419.694.300 hectares;
The estimated vegetation cover is 334.611.999 hectares;
The Amazon represents more than half of the remaining tropical forests on the planet and comprises the largest biodiversity in a tropical forest in the world;
23 million people live in the Amazon, according to the more recent Demographic Census, from 2010.
The Amazon basin is the largest hydrographic basin on the planet, harbouring 25.000 kilometres of navigable rivers.
What is Legal Amazon?
Legal Amazon corresponds to the area of operation of the Superintendence of Development of the Amazon (SUDAM), established in 2007, and spans approximately 5.015.067.749 km², or around 58.9% of Brazil’s territory.
The region harbors 52 municipalities in Rondônia; 22 in Acre; 62 in Amazonas; 15 in Roraima; 144 in Pará; 16 in Amapá; 139 in Tocantins; and 141 in Mato Grosso – as well as 181 municipalities in the state of Maranhão located to the west of Meridiano 44º; 21 of these are only partially integrated into Legal Amazon.
