Megapark Will Protect Vast Stretch of Pristine Amazon Rainforest
Brazil has announced the creation of a new “conservation corridor” that will link 12 separate protected areas in the Amazon rainforest to create a 25 million-acre megapark. It will be the world’s largest protected stretch of tropical rainforest, encompassing about 70 percent of Brazil’s northern state of Amapa, which scientists say is far more pristine than other parts of the Amazon basin. “Amapa has raised the bar in terms of its conservation commitment and has set a new standard for the Amazonia and the world,” said Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International. The corridor is home to jaguars and other predators, nine primates, more than 500 varieties of birds, and countless other species, all of them more likely to thrive now that habitat areas will be connected instead of fragmented.
