Keeping the Flying Rivers flowing: how deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon threatens rainfall in Peru and Bolivia

Understanding the Role of Flying Rivers and their impact in the Amazon

The Amazon’s “flying rivers” are invisible atmospheric currents that carry moisture from the Atlantic across the rainforest and into the Andes. They sustain rainfall, ecosystems, agriculture, and communities across South America. But as deforestation advances across the Brazilian Amazon, this critical hydrological system is increasingly at risk.

In this new white paper, researchers map the seasonal pathways of these moisture flows and identify the forests most essential to maintaining rainfall in Peru and Bolivia. The report highlights how infrastructure expansion, forest loss, and climate change threaten the resilience of the Amazon’s water cycle and outlines key recommendations to protect this interconnected system before critical tipping points are reached.

PDF in English PDF en Español PDF em Português

Amazon Mining Watch Panorama

Dispatch of the latest on gold mining impacts across the Amazon

Amazon Mining Watch Panorama provides critical quarterly insights into the escalating threat of illegal gold mining across the Amazon. Based on AI-powered detection of mining scars anywhere in the region from Amazon Mining Watch (AMW), a multiparner initiative led by Amazon Conservation, Earth Genome, and the Pulitzer Center, it offers a data-driven perspective on the environmental challenges facing the world’s largest rainforest.

PDF in English