How do human beings impact the Amazon Rainforest?

Human activities related to agriculture is the main reason for deforestation in Amazon. Not only the forest is drastically shrinking every year, ( at a rate of 150 acres per minute ) the natives are also getting killed and abused.

Biodiversity of the region is severely threatened to say the least. Upto 50,000 species could be lost every year. Several medicinal plants of rain forest provide key ingredients for drugs worldwide, which are indiscriminately removed along with forest trees. So deforestation is also associated with illegal logging and timber-smuggling.

Water holding capacity of the region has drastically gone down, so has soil fertility. There is also significant increase in surface temperature associated with a decrease in evapotranspiration and rainfall. This means sustainable agricultural practices must be introduced without any delay, and parts of the deforested areas must be allowed to regrow.

Heavy destruction of amazon rainforest occured between 1990 and 2005: most of the deforested area came under cattle ranching. In Brazil, forest cover was cleared for soy farming. All this has changed the climate of the region from more wet condition to a dry condition. If this continues, the biome may enter a point of no return.