The Atlantic Forest is a diffuse asset – it is everyone's right, it belongs to everyone and, in particular, it belongs to no one. It is a tropical rainforest biome that spans the east, southeast and south coast of Brazil, as well as eastern Paraguay and the province of Misiones in Argentina.
In this Biome are 17 states and 16 capitals - BA, ES, PB, PE, AL, SE, CE, , PI, RN, MS, GO, MG, SP, RJ, PR, SC, RS. Seven of Brazil's nine hydrographic basins are in the Atlantic Forest, where more than 145 million people live, representing 70% of the Brazilian population.

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This biome is essential for the healthy quality of life of human populations, important for the supply of water, in quantity and quality, for the protection of biodiversity, climate balance, air purification, carbon sequestration from the atmosphere and, for all activities economic conditions in these states without exception. Such as, for example, food production through agriculture and fishing, industries, for tourism, production of medicines, etc.
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is considered a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and one of the 34 world hotspots.

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The term hotspots is used to designate places that present great natural wealth and high biodiversity, , rich mainly in endemic species, which exist only in a specific location. However, they are places that are threatened with extinction or that are undergoing a current process of degradation. These are the places on the planet where the conservation of their natural features is most urgent and a priority.

The creation of the concept of hotspots arose from a need, the result of the following recurring problem among ecologists: with so many natural areas on the planet, which would be the points of greatest diversity threatened with extinction and that need to be more urgently conserved?

The Atlantic Forest was selected because it was deeply affected by the occupation of geographic space, without planning and since the Discovery of Brazil it has suffered from deforestation. This important biome has more than 20,000 plant species, of which 8,000 are endemic (which do not occur anywhere else in the world) and 60% of the fauna and flora species are under some degree of threat.

In 1988, the Federal Constitution recognized the Atlantic Forest as a National Heritage. But regardless of the title, the passage of a law to protect Brazil's most endangered forest came just 18 years later, in 2006.

The Atlantic Forest Law, nº 11.428/2006 regulates the protection and use of the biodiversity and resources of this forest. Its main objective is to ensure the rights and duties of citizens and public bodies with regard to the conscious exploitation of Atlantic Forest resources, considering sustainable criteria, so as not to harm the ecosystems that are part of the forest's biodiversity.

In addition Atlantic Forest Law also:
• Creates financial incentives for ecosystem restoration
• Stimulates donations from the private sector for conservation projects
• Regulates the article of the Constitution that defines the Atlantic Forest as a National Heritage
• Delimits which is the domain of the forest
• Prohibits deforestation of primary forests
• Creates rules for economic exploitation.

Currently, there is a lot of pressure on governmental and non-governmental environmental organizations to preserve hotspots. However, its areas are continually threatened by the expansion of human activities, such as deforestation, fires, pollution, illegal hunting and others. The biggest issues involve habitat destruction, the extinction of animal species, the introduction of exotic species and the impacts of regional and global climate change.

Protecting the standing forest and restoring degraded areas is a task and duty for everyone, Civil Society Organizations, companies, individuals and all levels of government, as we all depend on biodiversity to keep us alive.

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source: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/
SOS Atlantic Forest