Amazon set for second hydrocarbon boom

The Peruvian Amazon is in the early stages of a second hydrocarbon boom, which could have damaging effects on biodiversity and indigenous people. That's according to researchers from the US and Spain, who are the first to plot historical trends in oil and gas exploration and extraction in the forest.

Photo courtesy of Powless/Flickr

Avatar in the Amazon

If there were ever a place that came close to the magical world of Pandora in James Cameron’s new film Avatar, it would probably be the Amazon.

Photo courtesy of AP/20th Century Fox

Scientists Identify Ecuador's Yasuni National Park as One of Most Biodiverse Places on Earth

A team of scientists has documented that Yasuní National Park, in the core of the Ecuadorian Amazon, shatters world records for a wide array of plant and animal groups, from amphibians to trees to insects.

Photo courtesy of Karen Yee/Flickr

Yasuni Park Trust Fund Will Keep Ecuador's Oil Underground

As a result of its unique location, Yasuni contains what are thought to be the greatest variety of tree and insect species anywhere on the planet. In just 2.5 acres, there are as many tree species as in all of the United States and Canada combined.

[Photograph by: Joshua Bousel]

Ecuadorian innovative plan to save Rainforest, reduce Greenhouse gas Emissions

The Yasuni-ITT Initiative would protect a large area of pristine Amazon rainforest, by leaving untouched nearly one billion barrels of oil that lies beneath the Yasuni National Park in Ecuador.

[Map by: Schemata-Root.org]