Rainforests are among the most critical ecosystems on Earth. Home to roughly half of all terrestrial species, they provide oxygen and habitat, and help regulate regional rain and weather patterns. In honor of World Rainforest Day on June 22, we look at two recent Mongabay investigations that shed light on the challenges and triumphs in the world’s largest  and most biodiverse rainforest: the Amazon, home to roughly 10% of all known species on Earth. Despite its ecological importance, parts of the Amazon are hotbeds of violence, illegal deforestation, cattle grazing, mining, and drug smuggling. Mongabay’s reporters traveled to the rainforest, at personal risk, to tell those stories. Narco airstrips in the Peruvian Amazon In 2024, Mongabay Latam journalists trekked through the dense Peruvian Amazon to see firsthand a clandestine airstrip used for drug trafficking. Combining AI-analyzed satellite images, official records and on-the-ground reporting, the team uncovered 67 such clandestine airstrips. Many of them were located in or near Indigenous territories. Their six-part investigation documented deforestation linked to the airstrips and revealed a climate of violence: at least 15 Indigenous leaders have been killed in the region. In two communities, reporters learned that schoolchildren had overdosed on cocaine brought to the community, and residents lived in fear of armed traffickers. “We know where the airstrips are; they’re not very far from where we live, but we don’t go there for safety reasons,” a source, who asked not be named for fear of their safety, told Mongabay. “They’re armed, and everything is…This article was originally published on Mongabay