1 min. Animal population survey in the Brazilian rainforest

The Amazon is the largest rainforest on earth. At 6.9 million square kilometers, it is 19 times the size of Germany. Unfortunately, around 20% (3 times the area of Germany) has already disappeared (Butler, R., 2022). The main factor for deforestation is global meat consumption. Soy is grown on the cleared areas for animal feed and cattle, including for export to Europe (Lapola et al., 2023). But illegal gold mining, felling of precious wood trees and commercial hunting of animals also disrupt the balance of this important ecosystem. But precisely because the Amazon is so huge, there are still many places where the water is clean, the forest is dense and the animals are numerous - especially in protected areas and indigenous territories. The indigenous people of the Amazon have lived here for thousands of years without destroying their environment (Qin et al., 2023). These areas must be protected. On the one hand, they contain a huge treasure trove of a wide variety of animals. On the other hand, there are many plants here, some of which can be used to make medicine that is important for us in Europe, such as Jaborandí, which contains a potent active ingredient against glaucoma. Together with the indigenous Huni Kuin, a protected area is being set up in the Brazilian state of Acre. The area was bought, among other things, with donations for door 12 in the 24 Good Deeds Advent Calendar 2022. Now it's time for the next phase, namely the management and protection of the land. Whether the ecosystem is intact, i.e. the forest is healthy, cannot be seen at first glance. This requires researchers to find out how much biodiversity, i.e. how many animals and plants, there are still in a piece of forest. This information is needed to decide how best to protect it so that the animals can settle again.