The call to save the rainforest and preserve one of the most critical ecosystems on our

planet is a compelling one–so much so that multiple SERVIR projects are dedicated to
this cause. Communities across South America depend on the Amazon rainforest for food
and clean water, while the rest of the world benefits from the trees that act as the ‘lungs
of the Earth’ in regulating our climate. However, determining how deforestation and
forest degradation from logging, fires, and habitat fragmentation change ecosystem
services (such as providing clean air and water) is a complex process.
Dr. Stephanie Spera, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Richmond,
works with SERVIR-Amazonia and local indigenous organizations to better understand
how current rates of deforestation in the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon will impact the
entire region. Losing forest in one area can cause regional-scale changes, impacting
temperatures, rainfall, air quality, and even the water table.

If the full and far-reaching effects of deforestation are better understood, it can be easier
for local governments to make land management decisions balancing economic and
agricultural interests with conservation and emission reductions.

“Our work is both motivated by and grounded in collaboration with our local partners,”
Spera said. She and co-investigator David Salisbury note the borderlands in their study
area contain some of the last large swaths of intact forest in Amazon, but face pressure
due to economic development needs. As mining, agriculture, and road-building activities
increase, indigenous communities have reported less predictable precipitation and
streamflow, drier soils, warmer air temperatures, and a less humid forest. “Our goal is to
provide stakeholders across the Ucayali and Acre communities, [and] particularly our
indigenous partners, with knowledge and tools to empower them, to inform decision
making, and improve their resiliency,” Spera said.