October 2024 - NGM Single Copy

NGM OCTOBER 2024
AMAZON
The Amazon, though a river, is widely synonymous with "rainforest." As the decades-long epicenter of global conservation, the rainforest has literally and figuratively overshadowed the epic freshwater ecosystem on which it depends. Recently, Brazil proposed building 288 new dams across the Amazon basin, which will block animal migrations and disrupt the critical flow of nutrients and sediments downstream. Fueled by the surging price of gold, the number of illegal goldmines, spilling mercury into the Amazon and its tributaries, has reached unprecedented levels. Dams and mining are not only devastating the region’s rich aquatic biodiversity, but also endangering the food security of tens of millions of people. Other features in this issue include:
• A National Geographic explorer tracking Andean bears in Peru
• A look at crystal-clear waters featuring Golden Dorado and gorgeous, giant fish
• The heartbeat of the Amazon reveals itself as waters flood the forest for half the year
• Discover the charismatic pink dolphins and its place in the live of the people who live on the river
• A National Geographic explorer explores the freshwater ‘plume’ of the Amazon as it meets the sea