Amazonia, also called the Amazon Rainforest, is a moist broadleaf forest in the Amazon Basin of South America. The area encompasses seven million square kilometers, though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers, located within nine nations: Brazil (with 60 percent of the rainforest), Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. For news on the region, visit the IPS news site

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For more information about the Guyana Shield Initiative, please visit the website of the Initiative: http://www.guianashield.org.