• Data from MapBiomas Amazonia reveal that between 1985 and 2023, more than 88 million hectares of forest in the Amazon were destroyed. Scientists warn that if deforestation reaches between 20% and 25%, the ecosystem could collapse irreversibly. 

• In Peru, according to the Geobosques platform, total forest loss from 2001 to 2024 amounts to more than 3 million hectares. In regions such as Madre de Dios, this challenge is even more evident: it is one of the most biodiverse territories in the country, yet faces growing pressures on its forests. 

The Peruvian Amazon is approaching a dangerous tipping point: every minute, the equivalent of six soccer fields of forest are deforested, according to a WWF estimate based on MapBiomas data. This loss is not only about trees being cut down—it means less water, less climate regulation, and less life.

It is also the ancestral territory of over 400 Indigenous Peoples, whose traditional knowledge and sustainable management practices have preserved this ecosystem for centuries. Their role is essential to keeping the forests, rivers, biodiversity, and Amazonian culture alive. 

^{© WWF Peru}

Faced with this scenario, organizations from Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru are joining forces under one voice through the “Amazon League” campaign, which seeks to protect the Amazon and other tropical forests of the planet—ecosystems whose balance determines that of the entire global climate system.

The Amazon contains 20% of the freshwater that flows into the oceans and is home to 47 million people. Its role as a global climate regulator is vital: it stores between 150 and 200 billion tons of carbon in its vegetation and soils. 

According to the Scientific Panel for the Amazon (SPA), the role of this forest in regulating the global climate is crucial: it stores vast amounts of carbon and its “flying rivers”—the humid air currents generated by forest evapotranspiration—have a net cooling effect on the planet. 

In Peru, the government has key tools such as the National Strategy for the Restoration of Degraded Ecosystems and Forest Lands (ProREST 2021–2030), led by the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), which identifies priority areas for restoration. In 2018, 52,000 hectares were estimated to require restoration—but today, that figure is believed to be much higher. 

Kurt Holle, Country Director of WWF Peru, recognizes restoration as one of the most effective solutions to reverse the loss and degradation of Amazonian forests: 

“Through restoration, ecosystems regain their ability to store carbon, regulate the climate, protect biodiversity, and sustain the livelihoods of local communities. In the face of increasing deforestation and the climate crisis, restoring degraded landscapes means bringing life back to the forest and strengthening the resilience of people and the planet", he stated. 

In Peru, WWF promotes two main types of restoration: 

• Ecological restoration, through high-density plantations of native species and enrichment of secondary forests to improve their structure and hydrological cycles, benefiting key species such as the jaguar. 

• Productive restoration, which includes diversifying monocultures and implementing regenerative livestock systems that have already rehabilitated over 1,000 hectares of traditional pastures, improving their productivity and resilience. 

By 2030, it is projected that ecological restoration actions will have been implemented across over 7,000 hectares of degraded or deforested areas, potentially capturing up to 150,000 tons of CO₂ in the coming years, while strengthening local livelihoods. 

Beyond restoring degraded ecosystems, these initiatives help prevent new deforestation by offering sustainable alternatives to practices that have historically pressured forests. Regenerative livestock farming, for example, allows production without deforestation—restoring soil health, increasing water infiltration, and reducing the need to clear new areas.

In this way, the landscape becomes an ally of both the climate and the local economy. 

This work is carried out in close collaboration with ranchers, farmers, local and regional authorities, academic institutions such as the Iberia Technical Institute, and SERFOR, promoting an integrated landscape vision where conservation and sustainable production go hand in hand. These actions contribute to WWF’s regional vision: maintaining an Amazon biome that is ecologically healthy, socially just, and inclusive. 

A decade ago, Peru hosted COP20, the climate conference that paved the way for the Paris Agreement. Now, with COP30 set to take place in the Brazilian Amazon, the country once again stands at a critical crossroads—to show the world that conserving the Amazonian forests is essential to meeting global climate commitments.

Protecting and restoring the Amazon is not only an environmental goal, but a shared responsibility that connects the past, present, and future of climate negotiations. 

In this sense, it is crucial that Indigenous Peoples strengthen their leadership to ensure that the Amazon continues to be a source of life, culture, and balance for the planet. 

The Amazon League was born from the joint work of organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Amazonian Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG), Scientific Panel for the Amazon (SPA), Panamazonian Institute (IPA), Fundación Omacha, Conservation International (CI), and the Foundation for Conservation and Development (FCDS), among others.