In its entirely the Amazon Basin covers some seven million square kilometers. Representing at least 60 p.c. of the world's remaining tropical rain forests, and with some 55,000 different plant species under its canopy, it is one of the world's largest and richest natural habitats. Five million square kilometers of this vast ecosystem are found in Brazil. Now, aggressive development plans by the Brazilian Government are putting them at risk. Furthermore, if the predictions by the latest climate change model are correct, these plans have serious implications for the planet's climate...editorial