A silent machine works constantly to ensure that millions of people in South America have access to water, rivers, and crops. This mechanism is called the Amazon, and it works as follows – moisture from the ocean produces rain over the forest; the water is absorbed from the soil by the trees and released back into the atmosphere as vapor; the wind then spreads this vapor across the entire continent, causing rain in various regions.

Researcher Julia Valentim Tavares explains that this is South America’s primary water infrastructure and the largest “rain machine” on the planet. A mature tree in the Amazon can release 200 to 300 liters of water into the atmosphere every day.

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“Imagine 400 billion of them working together every day. If we could visualize that moisture, we’d see giant rivers flying through the sky. That’s what we scientists call ‘flying rivers.’”

Marielos Peñaclaros, co-chair of the Scientific Panel for the Amazon – an organization that brings together more than 350 scientists dedicated to studying the biome – emphasizes that the forest is the backbone of water, nutrient, and carbon cycles at the local, regional, and global levels.

“In other words, the Amazon sustains life – not only in the Amazon region but on the planet as a whole.”

The two specialists participated in the latest edition of TEDxAmazônia, held in late August in Ecuador. TEDxAmazônia stems from a commitment to listening deeply to this region. It is the only TEDx event dedicated to a single biome. The conversations that emerge at these gatherings “cross borders, connect knowledge, and bridge the local and the global,” a text on the TEDx website reads.

Warning

In addition to emphasizing the importance of this water system, the scientists issued a warning – the devastation of the Amazon is already affecting the “rain machine,” and its breakdown would be catastrophic for the entire planet.

Activities such as mining and drug trafficking, combined with deforestation and wildfires, have directly impacted Amazonian connectivity – a key factor for the conservation of the biome, Marielos noted.

“The Amazon is a living mosaic of interconnected terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, home to a great diversity of cultures. These communities have a deep and interdependent relationship with the ecosystems through their ways of life, management practices, and knowledge.”

The effects on the climate are already measurable, she said, with evidence that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results in less rainfall in regions of Brazil and Bolivia. In deforested areas, temperatures have risen, and dry seasons are becoming more intense and longer.

Julia Valentim Tavares is also measuring these effects from within the trees along the southern edge of the Amazon – a region known as “arc of deforestation” – where rainfall has already decreased and temperatures have risen over the past decade. She is investigating how long these trees can withstand droughts before their internal “ropes” are damaged.

“If the soil has water, this rope remains intact. During a dry season, the soil loses its water, and this rope becomes taut. The atmosphere pulls it upward, the soil pulls it downward, until the rope finally snaps. If this happens repeatedly in various parts of the tree, the tree literally begins to die of thirst.”

Global warming

In recent years, the region has also suffered from the effects of global warming. In 2024, the Amazon faced the worst drought in its history as a result of El Niño – a natural phenomenon involving the warming of Pacific Ocean waters that alters atmospheric circulation and has been growing in intensity.

Marielos points out that 88 percent of the Amazon basin felt the effects of this drought, which also disrupted the “rain machine.” Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, located in the Andes region, suffered from water shortages. In Quito, Ecuador – which is also outside the Amazon – water shortages led to power outages.

“The question we should all be asking is, where does the water for countless Latin American cities come from? Where does the water we use in agriculture, industry, and food production come from?” asked the co-chair of the scientific panel for the Amazon.

The drought also rendered the Amazon more vulnerable to wildfires, which reached record levels that year. Julia Valentim Tavares notes that smoke from the fires spread across the country, reaching as far as the Brazilian Southeast.

“This casts light on two key issues – first, the Amazon has never been far away. What happens in the forest does not stay in the forest. And second – millions of people depend on the Amazon, yet they still do not feel connected to it.”

The forecast that a super El Niño will occur this year has alarmed the scientists. “When these droughts occur, the forest either faces mortality due to water stress, or stops growing – plus wildfires. As a result, the Amazon ceases to function as a carbon sink and becomes a source of emissions, contributing to global warming,” she warned.

“We’re expecting it to be as strong as or stronger than in 2024, but the main difference is that last time, things happened that no one was expecting. How could a river dry up in the Amazon? Now everyone is talking about it,” Marielos noted.

In her view, a definitive solution will only be achieved through a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which depends heavily on replacing fossil fuels with less polluting energy sources.

“We also have to invest in connectivity – restoring degraded areas, rehabilitating those that were deforested for production, and reestablishing this ecological connectivity, because the Amazon is already approaching the point of no return, and because the total loss of this connectivity would be catastrophic for the entire world.”

*The reporter attended TEDxAmazônia at the invitation of the event organizers.

Brazilian indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire, known as Cacique (chief) Raoni, aged 94, has been diagnosed with cancer of the digestive tract and is receiving palliative care at home in Peixoto de Azevedo, in Mato Grosso state, where he is being cared for by his family and a medical team. The news was released Monday (Sep. 14) by the Raoni Institute on social media.

The statement notes that, throughout 2026, Raoni was hospitalized, underwent medical tests, and experienced a deterioration in his health. In June, he was transferred on an emergency basis to São Paulo after developing a severe intestinal obstruction caused by the tumor. He then underwent a procedure at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) hospital that created a new passage to allow food to pass through and improve his ability to eat and his overall comfort.

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Subsequent tests confirmed the diagnosis of adenocarcinoma. According to the Raoni Institute, given his age, clinical condition, and the risks associated with more aggressive treatments, the medical teams recommended palliative care.

Palliative care aims to manage pain and other symptoms, prevent complications, and improve quality of life. Care includes medical and nursing assistance, physical therapy, as well as support with nutrition and hydration.

“Care also involves the spiritual dimension. Raoni is a shaman and continues to receive the presence and care of shamans he trusts, as part of an intercultural approach that respects the Mẽbêngôkre culture, his language, his choices, and his spiritual beliefs,” the statement says.

Cacique Raoni is one of Brazil’s leading indigenous leaders and has been advocating for decades on behalf of indigenous peoples, their territories, and the rainforest. His work has gained international recognition for his efforts in defense of the Amazon and indigenous rights.

The Amazon basin is home to more than 2,700 species of freshwater fish – about 15 percent of all known species in the world. Approximately two-thirds of them are found exclusively in the region. The data can be found in the fourth edition of the report Peixes Esquecidos da Amazônia (“Forgotten Fishes of the Amazon”), led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which brings together information from over 50 experts representing 30 organizations.

According to the authors, the Amazon is one of the world’s last major river basins where it is still possible to prevent large-scale biodiversity loss and maintain extensive, connected river systems. To achieve this, however, action must be intensified before more complex and costly restoration efforts become necessary, explains TNC scientist and lead author of the report Fernanda Silva.

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“Around the world, conservation efforts are increasingly focused on restoring ecosystems after damage has occurred. The Amazon offers a different opportunity – to protect a freshwater system of global importance while it is still fully functioning,” Silva declared.

The report combines scientific evidence with traditional ecological knowledge. This approach shows that fish are directly linked to the maintenance of ecosystems, food security, cultures, livelihoods, and the economies of the people living in the region.

Fish help maintain the forest

According to the survey, fish are indicators of a healthy Amazon and contribute to the forest’s functioning.

Tambaquis, pacus, and matrinxãs, for example, enter flooded forest areas to feed on fruits and can disperse seeds over long distances. Other species transport nutrients and energy between aquatic and terrestrial environments. A decline in these populations can trigger a chain reaction affecting vegetation and animals that depend on fish, such as river dolphins, giant otters, and birds.

River connectivity is another key element. The gilt-head bream (known in Portuguese as dourada), one of the species analyzed, undertakes the longest exclusively freshwater migration ever recorded. A single individual can travel over 11,000 km during its lifetime, connecting the headwaters near the Andes to the Amazon estuary.

When these connections are severed, the impacts can be significant. On the Madeira river, for example, dams have blocked the dourada’s historic migration routes and contributed to the decline in fish stocks and the virtual disappearance of a historic fishing industry in the Cachoeira do Teotônio region.

Biodiversity under pressure

Despite this biodiversity, the study highlights significant gaps in our knowledge of Amazonian species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List includes 144 threatened species in the region, while another 334 are classified as data-deficient. The lack of monitoring and collaboration among countries in the basin may mean that the risks are greater than currently understood.

These threats act in combination. Hydroelectric dams, deforestation, pollution, and overfishing can disrupt river connectivity, fragment habitats, alter natural flow regimes, and degrade water quality.

Climate change tends to exacerbate this scenario. Projections in the report indicate that annual river discharge could decrease by more than 40 percent in some key regions, such as the headwaters of the Madeira river. Prolonged droughts can hinder fish reproduction and migration, reduce the oxygen available in the water, and concentrate contaminants. In the Andes, rising temperatures also threaten endemic species adapted to cold waters.

Gold mining adds another source of pressure. According to data compiled in the study, artisanal gold mining accounts for 83 percent of mercury emissions caused by human activities in South America. The contaminant collects in the food chain, and fish consumption is identified as the primary route of human exposure to mercury in the Amazon.

Fish and food security

River conservation also has a direct impact on Amazonian populations. In some remote riverside communities, fish consumption exceeds 600 grams per person per day. Fish is among the most accessible sources of animal protein for low-income families and provides important nutrients for development and health.

Fishing also drives the regional economy, although a significant portion of the activity does not appear in official statistics because it is artisanal, small-scale, or subsistence-based. At least 200 species are caught commercially, while the ornamental fish trade exports tens of millions of specimens per year and supports thousands of families. The report also highlights women’s participation in the various stages of the supply chain and in community associations.

Indigenous knowledge

The study highlights the knowledge of indigenous peoples and traditional communities regarding rivers. According to Fany Kuiru Castro, general coordinator of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), local governance practices help protect rivers and maintain their connectivity in the face of growing pressures.

“For indigenous communities, fish are not simply a resource. They are part of our identity, our food systems, our stories, and our relationship with living rivers,” said Castro.

She emphasized that any strategy to conserve the Amazon must recognize indigenous territorial rights, as well as “respect ancestral knowledge and strengthen indigenous leadership in protecting the waters that connect the entire basin.”

The report identified at least 155 community-based fisheries management initiatives in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Together, they cover nearly 13 million hectares and involve more than 1,200 communities and 21,000 fishing workers. According to the study, these initiatives are associated with increased fish abundance and species richness, as well as economic and social benefits.

Among the measures highlighted are the protection of free-flowing rivers, the restoration of natural flow regimes, the restoration of habitats and species, the improvement of water quality, and the prevention of the spread of non-native species.

Since rivers, fish, sediments, and nutrients cross national borders, the authors advocate for coordinated actions across the entire watershed, with the formal participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in river management. As Paula Caballero, TNC’s regional managing director for Latin America, notes, conservation brings benefits to various sectors.

“The report makes it clear that protecting the Amazon’s freshwater systems is not only an environmental imperative but also an economic and social necessity,” she pointed out.

More than one-third (38%) of human settlements in the Amazon were highly exposed to the effects of the 2024 El Niño, according to a study released Friday (Sep. 4) by MapBiomas – a network formed by universities, NGOs, and technology companies. Among the 5,673 inhabited areas in the region, 2,172 suffered severely from the phenomenon.

El Niño is characterized by the warming of the surface waters of the Tropical Pacific Ocean and causes changes in atmospheric circulation, leading to irregular rainfall patterns. In the Amazon, it causes drought and rising temperatures.

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In light of the weather forecast predicting that the phenomenon will be particularly strong this year – “Super El Niño” – researchers cross-referenced data on rainfall and land surface water to show how the Amazon was affected during the last occurrence of this climate event.

From September through November 2024, the water surface area in the Amazon was 1.9 million hectares below the historical average for the years 1985 through 2025. Rainfall was also lower, at 27 percent below average.

The average maximum temperature during those three months also rose significantly, reaching 2.6 °C above the historical average for the same period.

“Less rainfall and higher temperatures increase evaporative demand in the atmosphere, contributing to soil moisture loss and water stress in vegetation,” said Bruno Ferreira, a researcher at the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon) and a member of the MapBiomas Amazon team.

Population

The study also examined the effects of the phenomenon on different types of human settlements – such as urban and rural areas, indigenous territories, quilombola communities, settlements, and other categories.

The population in these areas are said to have been severely affected by El Niño, as 93 percent of the locations surveyed – 5,273 in total – are within 5 km of areas that experienced a reduction in water surface area, the study notes.

“The drought also manifests itself in lower river levels, with consequences for transportation, access to water, fishing, and other activities that depend on river systems,” Bruno Ferreira noted.

Land cover and land use data complement the biome exposure factors, since over the 41-year historical time series of the study on this topic, 3.9 million hectares of native vegetation were lost, which is equivalent to a 14 percent reduction in the previously existing green cover.

In the study, the experts cross-referenced data on land cover and land use, water, and the atmosphere. They also used data from the statistics bureau IBGE on inhabited areas and information from the El Niño Panel of Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet).