“For over 35 years, I have lived along the Rio Negro—it is a part of me. But now, what was once abundant has become really difficult. Boats no longer reach us, canoes get stuck in dry mud, and many fish have disappeared. The water we use for drinking and cooking is murky and full of dirt. We have to ration it and wait until the rains refill the rivers. There are sick people and children with diarrhea. Traditional farming is also struggling to produce cassava and other crops. We live from fishing and agriculture, but with each passing day, food security becomes more difficult.We would never have thought that the river, which is our street, our food, our life, would suffer from the effects of climate change. We are afraid of what might come in the next few years. The drought and the floods make us feel isolated and forgotten.”
– Dario Casimiro Baniwa
President of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of the Rio Negro (FOIRN)(2025)
“The past few years in the Amazon region have been marked by extreme events linked to climate change. The years 2021 and 2022 were characterized by major floods, while 2023 and 2024 saw severe droughts”
– Artur Matos, national coordinator of the hydrological warning system of SGB.
The increasing drought in Brazil is associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon, climate change, and the consequences of decades of deforestation. With around 20% of the rainforest destroyed, there are fewer trees to regulate the water cycle. With reduced rainfall, more trees die, increasing the risk of a permanent transformation of the rainforest into dry savanna.² ³
IMPACT ON THE RIVER ECOSYSTEM
The growing drought in the Amazon has devastating effects on the rivers, which are crucial for both the ecosystem and the local population. Unusually high water temperatures of up to 40 °C stress the river ecosystem, and low water levels in vital water sources threaten important transportation routes.⁵
RIVERS AS TRANSPORT NETWORKS
Rivers such as the Rio Negro, Tefé, and Amazon serve as natural “roads,” especially in remote areas. However, as water levels drop, these rivers are becoming increasingly impassable, severely affecting the transport of goods, food supply, and medical aid. These rivers are vital “arteries” of the rainforest, yet the combination of climate change, the El Niño phenomenon, and ongoing deforestation is pushing these unique ecosystems to their limits.⁶
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