Context:
Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) summit adopted a “new and ambitious shared agenda” to save the rainforest.
About ACTO:
- An intergovernmental organization formed in 1995 by the 8 Amazonian countries.
- Countries – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela
- Aim – To strengthen and implement the objectives of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty.
- Signed Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) in 1978 [Only socio-environmental block in Latin America]
About Amazon Rainforests:
- About 40% of Brazil’s total area.
- Located 28 degrees north or south of the equator
- Boundaries –
- Guiana Highlands (north)
- Andes Mountains (west)
- Brazilian central plateau (south)
- Atlantic Ocean (east)
- 9 countries – Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Guyana, and French Guiana
- Large tropical and Closed-canopy rainforests occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River.
- Temperatures – Between 20°C and 35°C [uniformly high]
- Importance –
- 30% of all species on Earth
- Source of 20% of the oxygen used by the planet.
- Home to 400–500 indigenous Amerindian tribes
- A major carbon sink
About Amazon River:
- Origin – Andes Mountains (Peru)
- Drains into – Atlantic Ocean
- Drainage Regions – South America, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil
- 2nd longest river in the world after the Nile River in Africa.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
“Leaf litter decomposes faster than in any other biome and as a result the soil surface is often almost bare. Apart from trees, the vegetation is largely composed of plant forms that reach up into the canopy vicariously, by climbing the trees or growing as epiphytes, rooted on the upper branches of trees.” This is the most likely description of
[UPSC Civil Services –2021 Prelims]
(a) coniferous forest
(b) dry deciduous forest
(c) mangrove forest
(d) tropical rain forest
