The Future

       The future of the Amazon Rainforest is very uncertain. A team of scientists predicted what the rainforest would look like in forty years by creating four scenarios under different levels of government forest regulation, ranging from "business as usual" (meaning there is no change in policies), little regulations, some regulations, and strong regulations (which would reduce deforestation by 80% by 2020). Under the most likely scenario, some regulation, an average of 19 endemic species would become extinct. In the worst-case scenario, no regulation, almost all local species would disappear. Furthermore, Brazil's president, Dilma Rouseff, recently implemented a new Forest Code that allows expansion for the agriculture industry into the rainforest and partially pardons past forest criminals, making the future for the Amazon look rather grim. Global warming is also negatively affecting the Amazon Rainforest; as temperatures rise and precipitation varies, plants and animals are having difficulty adapting and some species populations are drastically reducing in number.
       However, the amount of protected areas in the Amazon is growing. Approximately two million square kilometers (44%) of the Amazon is under protection. Even with the vast amounts of protected areas, the Amazon rainforest still suffers from illegal logging and poor management. Between 1998 and 2009, more than 12,000 square kilometers of these protected areas were deforested. Despite this, Brazil has experienced a major decline in deforestation since the 1970s. Although this decline is significant, it is important to realize deforestation is still happening and hurting the rainforest, and cannot be stopped without human interference.

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0420-protected_amazon.html