The Rainbow Warrior sails through the Amazonas river

The world is edging closer to an ecological calamity in the Amazon. Threats to the rainforest include logging, cattle ranching, soya plantations and of course climate change.

That's why the Rainbow Warrior is there now, and why today we are launching an international solidarity campaign to stand with the Brazilian people to save the Amazon. Join us and follow the ship! 

Citizens' initiative to save the Amazon

Today, on board the Rainbow Warrior in the Amazon, Greenpeace campaigners joined Brazilian civil society and community leaders in the launch (live stream) of a formal petition to Brazil's President for a Zero Deforestation law. The ambitious initiative will seek 1.4 million signatures from Brazilians at home and abroad for a law to end Amazon destruction.

From the heart of the Amazon, Manaus, the Rainbow Warrior will journey down the majestic river to the Brazilian coast before making its way to Rio de Janeiro. There, the global spotlight will be cast on President Dilma, as she hosts the UN Conference on Sustainable Development 20 years after the watershed Rio Summit of 1992.

The expedition will highlight the beauty and importance of protecting the rainforest, expose those responsible for its destruction and champion the solutions needed to achieve zero deforestation in Brazil.

Please sign up on our Amazon homepage to journey with us, and support the people of Brazil campaigning to save the Amazon.

Cattle ranching in a deforested area in Querência, Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Brazil needs a Zero Deforestation law

Greenpeace supporters around the world have written to the Brazilian President against a reckless new Forest Code law. If passed, it would spell disaster for the Amazon, including the people and the wildlife that depend on it. It is still looming in the wings, with a vote to pass the law in the Brazilian Congress having been delayed time and time again.

That struggle isn't over yet, and you can still write to President Dilma if you haven't already.

Today marks the beginning of an initiative that's not only protesting regressive change like the new Forest Code, but pushing for a hopeful, ambitious new law to save the Amazon for all. Brazil needs a strong legal framework to make sure they continue to reduce deforestation.

Rainbow Warrior begins its journey to Rio

South America's heritage, humanity's future

The Amazon Basin covers an area of approximately 6.5 million sq kilometers, comprising five percent of the Earth’s surface. It harbors the largest river system on the planet, about one-fifth of the total volume of fresh water of the world.

The combined effects of deforestation and climate change on the Amazon threaten to push it towards a tipping point, where it will change into savannah by the end of this century.

 Join us and help save the Amazon! 

(Photos: The Rainbow Warrior in the Amazon, and cattle ranching in a deforested area in Querência, Mato Grosso State. Copyright © Rodrigo Baléia / Greenpeace)