In Amazonian folklore, botos are often depicted as shapeshifters, referred to as “encantados,” who transform into attractive humans during the night to seduce villagers. Encantados are believed to attend local festivities, donning hats to conceal their blowholes, and engage in romantic encounters before returning to the river by dawn—a sweet way to account for the children born months later!

Such legends have traditionally fostered a protective attitude toward the Amazon river dolphins, contributing to their conservation. Harming or killing a boto was considered taboo and thought to bring misfortune or bad luck, but changing cultural dynamics and increasing human activities have erased the benefit of those traditional protections.

Contemporary World Wildlife Fund research shows that global river dolphin numbers have plummeted by 73% since the 1980s, with water infrastructure, unsustainable fishing, pollution, and other threats endangering their existence.

This article was inspired by recent footage WWF shared from Ecuador’s Amazon Basin in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, where Amazon river dolphins were filmed playing in ways rarely observed in the wild—swimming alongside kayakers, leaping and interacting with each other. The sighting provides new insights into the social behaviors of Amazon river dolphins.

Amazon River Dolphin Facts

There are six species of river dolphins remaining in the world today; they are all endangered or critically endangered. The Amazon’s pink river dolphin is the largest of them at up to 9 feet long and 350 pounds.

The pink river dolphin also has the largest range and is found throughout much of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. 

The species is characterized by its long snout and pale pink color. It has two recognized types or subspecies: 

• Bolivian Bufeo (Inia geofferensis boliviensis)
• Common Bufeo (Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis)

The Amazon pink river dolphin, also known as the boto, is a unique freshwater cetacean native to the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. Here are some key facts about its biology and behavior:

Physical Characteristics:

• Size and Weight: Adult males can reach up to 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in length and weigh as much as 185 kilograms (408 pounds). Females are generally smaller, averaging around 2.25 meters (7.4 feet) and weighing between 100 to 160 kilograms (220 to 352 pounds).
• Coloration: While calves are typically dark gray, adults exhibit a distinctive pink coloration. This pink hue is more pronounced in males and is believed to result from scar tissue formed during social interactions or combat. The pinkish coloration is a result of the blood vessels located along the body and increases with age.
• Anatomical Adaptations: Unlike marine dolphins, the boto possesses unfused cervical vertebrae, allowing it to turn its head up to 90 degrees. This flexibility aids in maneuvering through flooded forests and complex riverine environments. Pink river dolphins can navigate through the forest and maneuver with their specially adapted necks, which can be moved sideways.

Behavior and Ecology:

• Diet: Amazon river dolphins have a diverse diet, feeding on over 50 species of fish, including piranhas, tetras, catfish, and cichlids. They also consume freshwater crabs and turtles.
• Habitat Utilization: These dolphins inhabit a variety of freshwater habitats, such as rivers, small channels, and floodplains. During the wet season, they venture into flooded forests, taking advantage of the expanded foraging area.
• Social Structure: Botos are generally solitary or found in small groups, typically consisting of a mother and her calf. Larger aggregations may form in areas with abundant food resources.
• Reproduction: Females reach sexual maturity between 6 to 10 years of age, while males mature later, around 7 to 12 years. The gestation period is approximately 11 to 12 months, usually resulting in the birth of a single calf.
• Echolocation: Due to the often turbid waters of their habitat, Amazon river dolphins rely heavily on echolocation to navigate and hunt, emitting a series of clicks to detect objects and prey.

Understanding the biology and behavior of the Amazon pink river dolphin is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies to ensure the survival of this remarkable species.

Threats Facing Amazon River Dolphins

Amazon river dolphins face several threats, including habitat fragmentation from dam construction, pollution (notably mercury contamination from gold mining), deforestation, entanglement in fishing gear, and deliberate hunting for use as bait in certain fisheries.

Across their range, Amazon pink dolphins face threats including:

• habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of unsustainable development
• entanglement in fishing nets
• hunted for fish bait
• pollution
• climate change—heat and drought

The Amazon River dolphin faces challenges from development projects. Dam construction fragments populations and limits the species’ range and ability to breed. Pollution, including mercury, also impacts these dolphins. They’re also often deliberately killed for use as bait in the mota catfish fishery, which gathers fish that demand high prices in cities.

Freshwater dolphin conservation has had good results in other areas of the world, though, prompting optimism. “Now is the time to act,” said Jordi Surkin, WWF`s director of the Amazon region coordination unit. “These dolphin populations are still strong, and their habitats are in relatively good shape. If we address the threats now, we can ensure a future for all.”

River dolphins act as indicators of ecosystem health in the river basins where they live. If the dolphin population in a river is thriving, then the overall state of that freshwater system is also likely flourishing. But if that population is on the decline, then it’s considered a red flag for the ecosystem as a whole.

Recent research indicates the downward trend is continuing, and climate change is a growing threat. In 2023, more than 330 river dolphins died in just two lakes during a period of extreme heat and drought, highlighting the increasing threat to river dolphins posed by climate change.

Tracking the Amazon River Dolphin to Drive Conservation

WWF and numerous partner organizations are actively working to protect these dolphins through habitat conservation, research initiatives, and community engagement to promote sustainable practices.

Despite their iconic status, relatively little is known about Amazon river dolphin populations, habits and key habitats. While there are estimated to be tens of thousands of river dolphins, both pink and gray river dolphin species are currently listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Counting & Monitoring: In 2020, a comprehensive 9-day survey led by WWF, the Omacha Foundation, the Mamirauá Institute, Solinia, and the South American River Dolphin Initiative (SARDI) traversed a 950-kilometer stretch of the Amazon River across Peru, Colombia, and Brazil to monitor and protect Amazon river dolphins.

The survey revealed:

• 484 pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis)
• 442 gray dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis)
• a higher concentration of dolphins between Peru and Colombia,
• a noticeable decline in numbers along the Brazilian stretch, raising concerns about environmental pressures or human impacts affecting dolphin populations in certain regions.

This large-scale monitoring, spanning over 3,000 miles of river in the Amazon Basin and using methods like drones and river expeditions, provides essential data on population dynamics and dolphin habitats. These insights help conservationists understand the impacts of threats like habitat loss, pollution, and climate change. SARDI’s efforts, combined with community engagement programs, foster local stewardship, empowering those who live closest to the river to participate in the dolphins’ protection. Together, these initiatives are building an international framework to protect Amazon river dolphins and their essential habitats, ensuring a sustainable future for these unique freshwater species.

Satellite Tracking: In 2017, WWF and research partners attached small transmitters to 11 dolphins—both Amazon and Bolivian river dolphins—in Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia, to gain new insight into the animals’ migration patterns, feeding grounds, and seasonal movement, providing valuable insights into their habitats and movement within the basin​.

The information gathered from the tags will help :

• create stronger conservation plans,
• illuminate threats,
• better advocate for the protection of river dolphins and their habitats, and
• prove these animals depend on connected river systems for survival.

Marcelo Oliveira, a WWF conservation specialist who led the expedition in Brazil, said:

“Satellite tracking will help us better understand the lives of this iconic Amazonian species more than ever before, helping to transform our approach to protecting them and the entire ecosystem. Tracking these dolphins is the start of a new era for our work because we will finally be able to map where they go when they disappear from sight.”

Studies use telemetry data to map overlaps between dolphin habitats and areas of anthropogenic impact, such as planned dams and pollution hotspots. One study published in Cambridge University’s Oryx: The International Journal of Conservation relied on satellite tracking data from eight dolphins (one female and seven males) in the Peruvian Amazon, demonstrating that the dolphins inhabit a variety of habitat types and have core areas and home range areas of variable magnitudes.

To gain a better understanding of exactly how threats affect the dolphins, the authors examined the distance of dolphin records to locations of current and potential future threats posed by human activities:

• On average, dolphins’ home ranges overlapped with fisheries by 89%.
• Dolphins were found at an average distance of 252 km (826 ft) from the nearest proposed dam.
• Dolphins were tracked closer to proposed dredging sites—125 km (410 ft) from the nearest.

Tracking data supports conservation in a variety of ways, including:

• identifying high-priority habitats,
• focusing protection efforts,
• offering decision-making support.

These kinds of data can guide efforts to tackle some of the major threats facing river dolphins, including hundreds of planned dams that would separate many of the Amazon’s remaining free-flowing rivers, worsening mercury contamination from small-scale gold mining and illegal fishing. This would result in further habitat fragmentation—groups of dolphins being cut off from one another, unable to interact and breed and potentially threatening the long-term survival of these populations.

During tagging, scientists also collect samples to determine mercury levels and the general health of the dolphins.

Role of Local Communities in Freshwater Conservation

WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report indicates there has been a catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations in just 50 years (1970-2020). The strongest decline is in freshwater ecosystems (-85%) upon which river dolphins rely. As a result, a variety of conservation efforts are focused on these areas:

• Community Partnerships: Discuss WWF’s collaboration with local groups to promote sustainable practices that reduce mercury use and improve fishing techniques, benefiting both people and wildlife.
• Community Education: WWF educates communities about the ecological role of dolphins, reinforcing traditional beliefs and promoting eco-friendly livelihoods that safeguard both human and dolphin health.
• WWF engages local communities and partners with governments to identify solutions that bridge the needs of economic development and conservation—including providing scientific support to help find dam locations that will do the least harm to the environment. Travel plays a role in this work.

Conservation Travel in the Amazon

Market analysis of conservation travel in the Peruvian Amazon has shown that ecotourism is more profitable in the long term than other common uses of the land. Short-term benefits of large-scale logging, for example, exceed those of ecotourism, but deplete the land at a rate that leaves it unusable within just a few years.

The same study reported that avoiding deforestation had a far greater positive impact than the carbon footprint of visitors; ecotourism significantly reduced carbon emissions when comparing those two metrics. Finally, the study showed that conservation tourism increased the value of other local businesses by making the area increasingly attractive to wildlife, tourists, and locals alike.

Our mission is conservation through exploration: protecting our planet by inspiring travelers, supporting local communities and boldly influencing the entire travel industry. Travel can imbue value to natural habitats, bringing economic resources to local communities and inspiring them to protect wild places and the wildlife that thrives within them. Travel can help visitors and locals alike understand what is at stake in the Amazon.

Nat Hab Guests explore Peru’s Amazon © Nat Hab Staff Megan Koelemay

We offer multiple itineraries for exploring and contributing to conservation in the Amazon River basin:

Discover Amazon & Machu Picchu

Cruise to the headwaters of the Amazon River for an immersion in the primeval rainforest on the Discover Amazon & Machu Picchu’s year-round itinerary. Select departures for this trip sail on Nat Hab’s new 164-foot-long river cruise ship, the Zafiro, which offers guests the opportunity to participate in turtle restoration and forest replanting. The ship eschews single-use plastics, minimizes waste through recycling and repurposing materials, conserves energy and water through automatic shut-off and water-saving devices, and uses energy generated from solar and biomass systems.

Great Amazon River Expedition

On our Great Amazon River Expedition, the journey’s focus is the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve at the Amazon River’s headwaters. According to Nat Hab Expedition Leader Renzo Zeppilli, the reserve is home to 250 fish species and protects more than 130 species of mammals, 150 reptile and amphibian species and 450 kinds of birds. It also contains the largest variety of flora in Peru, including gigantic bromeliads and 22 orchid species.

Supporting conservation efforts through travel and advocacy helps preserve not just the dolphins but the entire Amazon ecosystem. Mariana Paschoalini Frias, Conservation Analyst at WWF-Brazil, reminds us:

“River dolphins are considered ‘sentinels’. In other words: They are indicative of the health of the environment where they live. What happens to them is reflected in the other species that live around them, including humans.”

Delfin III, The Great Amazon River Expedition

The post Ancient Legends, Modern Challenges: Protecting the Amazon’s Pink River Dolphins first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

These efforts embody the shared mission of Nat Hab and World Wildlife Fund: protecting the planet’s most extraordinary places while supporting the people who call them home.

“Nat Hab Philanthropy and the amazing projects we fund around the world are a major ‘why’ behind what we do as a company. Conservation travel means so many things, and they’re all fantastic, but in this case, the ability to fund grassroots projects doing incredible things for nature, communities and wildlife, supported by the proceeds from our travel programs, is one of my favorite parts about what and how we do things at Nat Hab,” says Chief Sustainability Officer Court Whelan.

Here are 14 new Nat Hab Philanthropy Projects of 2025—and stay tuned to learn about the projects in our second funding cycle of 2025!

Tolga Bat Rescue: A Safe Return for Flying Foxes

Funding Provided: $2,000
Location: Atherton, Far North Queensland, Australia
Partner: Tolga Bat Rescue and Research

Tolga Bat Rescue rehabilitates hundreds of orphaned spectacled flying foxes each year—an endangered species vital to Australia’s rainforests. This grant funds construction of a new release cage where young bats can strengthen flight muscles before returning to the wild.

The soft-release method greatly increases survival rates and helps restore balance to tropical ecosystems dependent on these pollinators.

Bosque Guardián Lodge: Saving Native Bees, Sustaining Forest Communities

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Tiraco Valley, San Martín Region, Peruvian Amazon
Partner: Bosque Guardián Lodge

In the cloud forests of Peru’s Cordillera Escalera Reserve, Bosque Guardián Lodge champions the conservation of Tetragonisca angustula, a native stingless bee revered for its medicinal honey.

Funding supports the construction of 30 wooden hives and training for 15 local women in sustainable meliponiculture—an alternative to deforestation and cattle ranching. The project preserves pollinators, fosters women’s leadership and strengthens traditional ecological knowledge.

© Bosque Guardián Lodge

Ambiomas and Ejido Los Remedios: Biodiversity Monitoring for Responsible Tourism

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Sierra Chincua Sanctuary, Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Partner: Ambiomas Acciones y Respuestas Adaptativas

To diversify tourism beyond monarch season, Ejido Los Remedios is developing year-round biodiversity experiences rooted in conservation science.

Funding supports a three-month monitoring project using camera traps and citizen science tools like iNaturalist and eBird to document flora and fauna. Findings will inform new eco-tours and guidebooks, strengthening local knowledge and sustainable tourism practices.

© Nat Hab Staff Court Whelan

Empowering Women Through Birding in the Peruvian Amazon

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Peru
Partner: Delfin Amazon Cruises

In partnership with Indigenous communities, Delfin Amazon is launching a program to train women as birding guides in one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems.

Funding supports training, educational materials and equipment, helping participants learn avian ecology, guiding skills and conservation education. The program fosters sustainable livelihoods while reducing reliance on extractive practices and protecting both wildlife and culture.

© Delfin III

FortWhyte Alive: Arctic Science Day Inspires Future Environmental Leaders

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Partner: FortWhyte Alive

Arctic Science Day brings climate research to life for middle and high school students through hands-on learning led by scientists from the University of Manitoba. This free, two-day event fosters curiosity and understanding of Arctic systems and climate change.

Funding supports materials, equipment, honoraria and staffing—ensuring accessibility for all students and inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders.

© FortWhyte Alive

Forests for Monarchs: Reforesting Habitat, Restoring Hope

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Michoacan, Mexico
Partner: Forests for Monarchs

Since 1997, Forests for Monarchs has planted more than 13.5 million trees to restore degraded land in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. With monarch numbers still in steep decline, this work remains critical.

This year’s grant supports planting 2,500 native trees in sanctuary communities like Senguio and Ocampo. The community forestry model engages Indigenous groups and local ejidos to ensure long-term stewardship and sustainable livelihoods—strengthening forest health and monarch recovery.

© Forests for Monarchs

Open Door Bird Sanctuary: Birds Are for Everyone

Funding Provided: $1,000
Location: Door County, Wisconsin, USA
Partner: Open Door Bird Sanctuary

Through its Birds Are for Everyone initiative, Open Door Bird Sanctuary makes wildlife education accessible to schools, senior centers and community groups that might otherwise miss out.

This grant helps subsidize outreach programs—from field trips to off-site raptor presentations—bringing people of all ages closer to the natural world and inspiring compassion for birds of prey.

Mask Up Uganda: Safeguarding Gorillas Through Health Protocols

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda
Partner: In collaboration with CTPH and Gorilla Doctors

To protect Uganda’s endangered mountain gorillas, Mask Up Uganda supplies high-quality face masks and health training for rangers, guides and communities at all five gorilla tracking sites.

The initiative—led by Conservation Through Public Health and Gorilla Doctors—reduces the risk of disease transmission from humans to great apes. The 2025 funding transition supports Uganda Wildlife Authority as it prepares to assume full management by 2026 following successful regional models.

© Conservation Through Public Health

Alaska Wildlife Alliance: Wildlife Wednesday Virtual Series

Funding Provided: $2,000
Location: Online (based in Alaska, USA)
Partner: Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Each month from October to April, Alaska Wildlife Alliance connects audiences with experts through Wildlife Wednesday, a free virtual lecture series exploring conservation, science and storytelling.

This grant supports event planning, hosting, communications and digital outreach, helping bring wildlife education to thousands of viewers worldwide while strengthening advocacy for Alaska’s ecosystems.

© Alaska Wildlife Alliance

Wildlife Madagascar: Reforesting Namoroka National Park

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Namoroka National Park, Madagascar
Partner: Wildlife Madagascar

Building on success in Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve, Wildlife Madagascar is expanding its conservation work to Namoroka National Park—a remote, biodiversity-rich area sheltering ten lemur species, over 100 bird species and dozens of reptiles and amphibians.

To restore this fragmented landscape, Wildlife Madagascar is launching a hands-on reforestation initiative led by a full-time specialist who will collect seeds (even from lemur droppings), germinate saplings and coordinate bi-monthly tree-planting events with local residents.

The grant provides essential field gear—boots, rainwear, uniform and a tent—for extended seed-collecting missions. These efforts will reconnect forest corridors, ensure gene flow among wildlife populations and safeguard the park’s ecological resilience.

© Wildlife Madagascar

Gyekrum Lambo Primary School: Restoring a Classroom for Learning

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Karatu, Arusha, Tanzania
Partner: Gyekrum Lambo Primary School

This project revitalizes an unused classroom, turning it into a safe, welcoming space for students. Funding covers new flooring, glass windows, fresh paint and labor costs—ensuring children can learn in comfort and security.

By reopening this classroom, the school expands its capacity to serve a growing student body and improves education and opportunity for the Karatu community.

© Nat Hab Guest Diann Jinks

Bwindi Plus Menstrual Health Project: Dignity Through Hygiene and Education

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Bwindi, Uganda
Partner: Bwindi Plus Orphanage School

In Uganda’s Bwindi region, many girls face barriers to education due to limited access to menstrual products and persistent social stigma. This project addresses both through training and empowerment.

Funding supports the purchase of an overlock machine, cloth materials and a tailoring instructor to teach girls and women to make reusable pads. School workshops on menstrual health help reduce stigma and improve confidence, leading to higher school attendance and community awareness.

© Bwindi Plus Orphanage School

Community Library for the Galapagos and the World

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Partner: AGIPA (Galapagos National Park Interpretive Guides Association)

The Agipa Community Library—the only library in the Galapagos—serves as a vital center for education and creativity. This non-profit, guide-led initiative uses art and literacy to connect young readers with conservation.

Funding supports ten youth workshops in 2025, engaging children with the IUCN Red List through reading, art and storytelling. Each session inspires curiosity and conservation-minded thinking among the next generation of island stewards.

Tasiilaq Community Cookbook: Celebrating Greenland’s Local Flavors

Funding Provided: $2,500
Location: Tasiilaq, East Greenland
Partner: Community-led initiative

The Tasiilaq Community Cookbook preserves Greenlandic food traditions through recipes gathered from local chefs, home cooks and families.

With Nat Hab’s support, this project funds research, photography, community tastings, printing and distribution. The cookbook will serve as both a cultural archive and educational tool, encouraging sustainable eating and local pride.

East Greenland Arctic Adventure © Nat Hab Expedition Leader Lianne Thompson

From tree nurseries in Madagascar to bee hives in the Amazon, these 2025 projects show how small grants create lasting impact. Each initiative reflects a shared commitment to protect wild places, empower communities and ensure conservation thrives alongside human well-being.

Through Nat Hab Philanthropy, every traveler becomes part of this story of restoration, resilience and hope.

The post Seeds of Hope: Nat Hab Philanthropy in Action first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.

How the Amazon’s Biodiversity Supports Wildlife and People

Scientific research has found a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the integrity of the global environment. The Amazon accounts for half of Earth’s remaining rainforests. It contains massive freshwater sources replenished by frequent rainfall, abundant foods, medicinal plants and rich biodiversity. The area has an enormous impact on the world’s environmental condition: the Amazon’s rainforests store an estimated 150–200 billion tons of carbon and help regulate rainfall patterns and climate across South America and the globe. A multitude of wildlife is found here—so much so that a new species is discovered every other day—and this region is one of the last refuges for many endangered animals such as pink river dolphins and hyacinth macaws.

The white-throated toucan is known for its distinctive far-carrying series of loud yelps that are a common sound in Amazonian humid lowland forests.

The Amazon as a Living Pharmacy: Medicines From the Rainforest

Indigenous people live in settled villages by rivers, growing tropical fruits and vegetables for sustenance such as corn, beans, bananas and cassava. A large portion of the diet of humans around the world originates from the Amazon—avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, guavas, pineapples, mangos, potatoes, tomatoes, rice, winter squash, yams, black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, turmeric, coffee, vanilla and cashews—to name a few. This abundance of natural resources plays a large role in the lives of the tribes and the lives of all humans on the planet. Native communities have acquired a vast knowledge of plant remedies from years of living off the land. The Amazon is a virtual library of chemical invention, home to millions of untested plants that could lead to medicinal revolutions. It is estimated that less than 1% of tropical plants have been tested for medicinal properties, yet rainforest ingredients are found in 25% of pharmaceuticals.

The importance of preserving tropical plants is demonstrated by vincristine, one of the world’s most powerful anticancer drugs. Vincristine is extracted from periwinkle found in the rainforests of Madagascar. Its influence has had an enormous impact—it has dramatically increased the rate of survival in patients with childhood leukemia, proving the rainforests’ worth as a source of life-saving medications.

What Is Driving Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest Today?

Yet as industrialization expands further, deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate. According to World Wildlife Fund, 17% of the Amazon’s rainforests have been lost in the past 50 years. While cattle ranching is the largest source of deforestation in the Amazon, the destruction of this crucial ecosystem is also caused by mining, logging, oil exploitation, construction of roads, massive dams and slash-and-burn agriculture. This moist broadleaf forest has an astonishing diversity of life, which is now under threat, and we must recognize that the health of our planet is at stake. Indigenous cultures, valuable pharmaceuticals and endangered species will be lost forever. Tribes face continued population decimation as traditional ways of life and languages become extinct and knowledge of the medicinal value of rainforest plants is lost. As the rainforests disappear, so does the possibility of curing life-threatening diseases. The devastation of the Amazon is an emerging disaster not only for the region’s animals and Indigenous tribes but for the world, as this fundamental life system stabilizes the climate by regulating Earth’s oxygen and carbon cycles.

The Amazon Basin holds one-fifth of the world’s freshwater and is a habitat for species such as the pink river dolphin.

Sustainable Solutions for Preserving the Amazon

It is essential that we protect the Amazon before it is too late. We can do this by taking national and local action to protect threatened lands and aquatic systems and by educating others on the importance of this biodiverse region. We can change our way of thinking about development and focus on conservation in the Amazon’s countries, which provides economic, social and environmental benefits to people in the region and those within the Amazon’s far-reaching climatic influence. The fate of this rainforest is dependent on how economic growth is embraced and whether people are provided with viable economic reasons to save it. Many organizations have proven that resources such as fruits, nuts, oils, rubber and chocolate can be harvested sustainably. Research centers like the National Cancer Institute have created plant-research projects, and more than 2,100 rainforest plants containing anticancer agents have been found. Ecotourism is another sustainable industry that gives the rainforest long-term economic value, as governments and communities are incentivized to protect wildlife and natural habitats through tourism dollars.

Why the Future of the Amazon Matters to Every Traveler

There is remarkable biodiversity in the animal kingdom, and the Amazon is one of the best areas in the world to see this on display. Travelers who visit gain a better understanding of this critical rainforest’s worth as a sanctuary for wildlife, plants and people and return home inspired to become advocates for its preservation. There are many sustainable solutions to conserving the Amazon—Nat Hab and WWF are proud to play their part.

© JJ Huckin

The post Inside the Amazon, the World’s Green Heart: Wildlife, Medicine and What We Stand to Lose first appeared on Good Nature Travel Blog.