10,000 species in Amazon put at risk

More than 10,000 species of plants and animals are at high risk of extinction due to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest — 35 percent of which has already been deforested or degraded, according to the draft of a landmark scientific report published on Wednesday. Produced by the Science Panel for the Amazon, the report brings together research on the world’s largest rainforest from 200 scientists from across the globe. According to the report, the soil and vegetation of the Amazon hold about 200 billion tons of carbon, more than five times the world’s annual CO2 emissions.