South America

FRAMES

Regional Overview
Panorama Regional

Definitions used in this study
Definiciones utilizadas en este estudio

Last Frontier Forests
Las Ultimas Fronteras Forestales

South America Facts

• In South America forest originally covered more than 9.7 million square kilometers.
• Frontier forest in South America extends over 4.4 million square kilometers.
• Frontier forests make up 46% of original forest and two-thirds of current forest in South America, the highest ratios of any region in the world.
• 54% of South America's frontier forest is under moderate or high threat.
• The biggest threats to South America's frontier forests are logging and mining, roads, and other infrastructural development.
• In this study, six of the eight countries with the best frontier forest index scores are located in South America (Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela).
• The Northern Amazon Basin and the Guyana Shield house the largest block of tropical frontier forest in the world.
• Chile and Argentina house the largest contiguous block of temperate frontier forest in the world.