Climate change could provoke deep losses of the Amazon’s biological and cultural heritage, putting at risk plants essential to Indigenous communities, the traditional knowledge associated with their use, and dozens of ancestral languages, according to a study published in the scientific journal Nature.
The research, conducted by scientists from Switzerland and the United States, concludes that by the end of the century the region’s Indigenous populations could lose about one-third of the plant species they rely on in daily life, with significant impacts in areas such as food, traditional medicine, construction, and cultural practices.
The investigators analyzed more than 90,000 historical and scientific records on the use of Amazonian plants, produced between 1504 and 2023. The survey identified nearly 5,800 species used by local communities, a number that doubles previous estimates.
The study also highlights the close connection between biodiversity and the cultural diversity of the Amazon. Of the more than 76,000 records of native species analyzed, 57% were associated with 156 different Indigenous languages. However, more than half of these languages are currently threatened with extinction.
To assess future impacts, the authors modeled the distribution of species between 2060 and 2080 under different climate scenarios. The results point to average local extinction rates of between 28% and 34% of the plants used by Indigenous communities, depending on the degree of global warming.
The losses would not be limited to plant species. The services provided by these plants—including medicinal, dietary, and ritual uses—could decline by 18% to 23%. The regions where Indigenous languages are spoken that are under threat face even higher risks of species loss and of the benefits associated with them.
According to the researchers, the disappearance of these languages could, on its own, trigger a reduction of about 26% in the documented traditional knowledge about Amazonian plants. Combined with biodiversity loss, this phenomenon could result in an unprecedented erosion of the region’s cultural heritage.
The Amazon houses more than 10% of the planet’s terrestrial biodiversity and is home to more than 400 Indigenous peoples. The authors warn that the consequences of climate change go far beyond the environmental impacts typically discussed, also affecting knowledge systems accumulated over generations.
The scientists argue that conservation strategies must integrate biodiversity protection with the preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures. For the authors, recognizing the link between natural heritage and cultural heritage will be essential to curb the loss of what is called the biocultural heritage of the Amazon.
The study concludes that the data now gathered should serve as a basis for future preservation and recovery initiatives of this unique heritage, whose survival could depend on the measures adopted in the coming decades to confront climate change.
