Amazon Rainforest

Question 1

What is the area of the forest?

Answer 1

6 million square km

Question 2

What percentage of the forest is located in Brazil?

Answer 2

66% - 2/3rds

Question 3

The forest is the most bio-diverse ecosystem on the planet. How many tree species are in the forest?

Answer 3

16,000

Question 4

Many people live in the forest, what term is used to describe them?

Answer 4

Indigenous tribes

Question 5

Recently, the rate of deforestation has began to fall, since when has this been happening?

Answer 5

2004

Question 6

Continent?

Answer 6

South America

Question 7

What precious metal is mined heavily in the Amazon?

Answer 7

Gold

Question 8

There is also heavy mining for bauxite in the Amazon, from which a metal is made. Which metal?

Answer 8

Aluminium

Question 9

Cattle ranching accounts for how much of deforestation?

Answer 9

70%

Question 10

What species are becoming endangered due to illegal hunting and animal poaching?

Answer 10

Jaguars and Golden-bellied Capuchin

Question 11

Suggest why cattle ranching has such a great impact in deforestation?

Answer 11

The cattle graze the grass and after a short time the land is no longer usable. So, they slash and burn more trees to get more land and the cycle continous.

Question 12

Name crops that are grown / harvested on a large scale in the rainforest:

Answer 12

Palm Oil, Bananas, Sugar Cane, Tea, Coffee, Pineapple, Soybean

Question 13

What is the name of the 4,000 km long highway road created to open up the rainforest?

Answer 13

Tran-Amazonian Highway

Question 14

Jobs, (both legal and illegal) need to accommodate their workers. What affect does this have on deforestation?

Answer 14

They destroy land to build houses.

Question 15

A global impact of deforestation is the Loss of Biodiversity.
Roughly how many species are lost yearly due to rainforest deforestation?

Answer 15

500,000 plant, animal and insect species.

137 per day

Question 16

Name both Global and Local impacts of deforestation:

Answer 16

Global:

• Global Warming
• Loss of biodiversity

Local:

• Indigenous tribe decline
• Soil erosion
• River pollution
• Local climate disruptions
• Conflicts

Question 17

The number of indigenous tribes is decreasing, how many tribes are estimated to be living in the rainforest now?

Answer 17

240 left

Question 18

Mercury from gold mining is entering waters and polluting the river. What effect does this have?

Answer 18

• Fish die
• Starvation due to lack of fish
• Dehydration
• Illness from ingesting Mercury

Question 19

What is the name for anti-cancer drug derived from the rainforest plant, periwinkle?

Answer 19

Vincristine

Question 20

What percentage of drugs used in developed countries come from rainforests?

Answer 20

25% - 1/4

Question 21

How many countries does the rainforest spread into?

Answer 21

9

Question 22

What can be done to halt deforestation?

Answer 22

Selective Logging
Debt Reduction schemes / International agreements
Ecotourism