According to new research to be published by scientists at the University of East Anglia, the currently existing forest corridors along the Amazon river need to be wider.

The corridors being discussed in the study are a series of forest strips buffering the rainforest's rivers and streams. These corridors are maintained to ensure that wildlife from the Amazon's various habitat patches have free access to other herd and communities.

This in effect minimizes in-breeding and allows the re-establishment of populations that may have become extinct in one habitat. The Brazilian forestry legislation currently states that forest strips alongside rivers and streams on private land are considered permanent reserves.

The corridors currently have a width of 60 meters. The UAE study was conducted on 37 remnant and intact riparian forest sites in the State of Mato Grosso, southern Brazilian Amazon, around the town of Alta Floresta.

The team's study indicated that that wider and better-preserved corridors facilitated better species variety around their area. As a result, research team proposed that the wildlife corridor should have a minimum width of at least 400 meters to be effective.

"There are proposals on the table to actually weaken the minimum legal requirements, when they need to be strengthened,” said Dr Carlos Peres, a member of the UEA team. Dr. Peres further noted:

This is a huge wildlife conservation issue locally - with global implications in terms of biodiversity and climate change - and we would urge policy-makers to act on this important new research before it is too late.