Guess Who Has the Lowest Carbon Footprint in the Amazon?

Researchers have revealed that areas protected by indigenous peoples and local communities release the least amount of carbon emissions in South America’s Amazon rainforest – accounting for merely 10% of all the emissions in the region!

“What we find is that from a carbon standpoint, protected land and indigenous territories are doing a tremendous job in buffering against losses, particularly losses associated with deforestation,” says Wayne Walker, a scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, a U.S. climate science institute.

The Amazon – the world’s largest tropical rainforest spread across nine nations – is crucial in fighting climate change as it can store massive amounts of carbon. Wayne highlights that the role of indigenous peoples and local communities “is critical and must be strengthened if Amazon basin countries are to succeed in maintaining this globally important resource.”