Brazil

Encompassing a broad swath of central and eastern South America, Brazil is the largest country in the Southern Hemisphere. It is home to several types of ecosystems, including the worlds’ largest tropical wetland, the only atoll in the Southern Atlantic, and more than half of the Amazon Rainforest. Indigenous lands comprise more than 12% of Brazil, and the majority of these are located in the Amazon. Brazil has high biodiversity rarity of terrestrial land vertebrates, marine mammals, and fish. Environmental threats include deforestation in the Amazon Basin, which destroys habitat and endangers many endemic species. Illegal poaching and wildlife trading are also resilient issues, as well as air and water pollution in large cities. Along its coast, Brazil also faces wetland degradation and the risk of oil spills.