1. World Wildlife Magazine
  2. Summer 2014

The Amazon Region Protected Areas program is the single largest tropical forest conservation program in history

Large-scale conservation is especially important in the Amazon because we need to maintain large tracts of forests not only for carbon sequestration, fresh water delivery and energy generation, but also for wide-ranging species which require massive areas of forest to survive. ARPA offers a hard line against deforestation—a necessary shield, as approximately 70% of the Amazon's forest cover must be protected to sustain the tropical ecosystem as a whole.

Since 2000, ARPA has helped a scattered group of protected areas grow into a strategic gallery of Amazon jewels covering more than 200,000 square miles.

Toggle between the dates below to see how Brazil’s protected area has grown in the past 12 years.

Deforestation data from 2012.

Amazon Biome

Water

128
million acres:
Protected by ARPA to date

Greater than the size of California

150
million acres:
Ultimate goal of permanent protection

3X the size of all US National Parks combined.

People
Population of Brazil's Amazon:
20 million

Protected areas contribute to water quality, plant and animal diversity and sustainable economic options.

  
Climate
Tons of CO2 emissions avoided from deforestation:
1.4 billion

That’s nearly the equivalent of the annual C02 emissions of the entire nation of Russia.

  
Wildlife
Known species on Earth found in the Amazon: 
1 in 10
  
Trees
Decrease in Brazil’s deforestation rate from 2000 to 2012: 
75%

ARPA is slowing deforestation’s spread. In 2013, despite a small uptick in deforestation nationally, forest loss in states with major ARPA presence dropped again.

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World Wildlife magazine provides an inspiring, in-depth look at the connections between animals, people and our planet. Published quarterly by WWF, the magazine helps make you a part of our efforts to solve some of the most pressing issues facing the natural world.

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