There are multiple challenges facing the Amazon, but three are of particular concern: deforestation, climate change, and forest degradation, which is often caused by fires, mining, roads, or other human activities. This ecosystem is one of the world's greatest treasures because it acts as an enormous carbon store, is a repository of biodiversity, and influences rainfall over South America. As such, harm to the Amazon has serious ramifications. The most serious threat is deforestation. Forests are cleared to make room for agriculture. In particular, there is the need for more cattle pastures and soybean farms. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says that, globally, agriculture is the main cause of deforestation. The Amazon rainforest is already under pressure from humans for this reason. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reports that nearly 1,000,000 square kilometers of Amazon forest was destroyed in the last 30 years, with cattle pasture and the expansion of soybean agriculture playing key roles. The removal of this forest is detrimental to wildlife and leads to the release of stored carbon. Another key issue is climate change. The Amazon depends on a delicate balance of heat, moisture, and rainfall. Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns are increasing drought stress in many parts of the region, which makes the forest less resilient and more vulnerable to fire. Reduced forest area means that there is a reduced availability of moisture from evapotranspiration to return to the climate system. Climate change leads to deforestation and fires. This increases greenhouse gas emissions and reduces forest capacity to absorb greenhouse gases. The IPCC has high confidence that deforestation and increasing forest fire activity contribute significantly to climate change (IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report, Box SPM.1, p. 10). The final issue is degradation, which happens when forest is weakened and/or damaged. This can occur due to logging and the effects of repeated fires, mining, and fragmentation from roads. The forest is not completely cleared, but the ecological value of the forest is reduced. The impact of degradation may eventually exceed that of deforestation. Science reports degradation has increased over time in the Amazon rainforest, and, in some parts of the basin, may now exceed deforestation. This is important because a damaged forest will be less effective at storing carbon, will have fewer species, and may be even more susceptible to degradation in the future. There is significant overlap between these issues. The combination of deforestation and climate change means the risk of forest degradation will increase. If more forests are degraded, the impact of climate change and deforestation will be even greater. This highlights the importance of a concerted, integrated approach towards forest conservation and sustainable land use. This should include strengthening law enforcement, improving spatial planning and monitoring, better support for indigenous and traditional forest communities, and a rethinking of economic models and business opportunities that rely on forest degradation.