People grows most of their food in small areas after clearing some trees in the forest. While men hunt and fish along the rivers, women take care of the crops. They mainly grow tapioca, pineapple and sweet potato. As hunting and fishing are uncertain it is the women who keep their families alive by feeding them the vegetables they grow. They practice "slash and burn agriculture".
The staple food is manioc, also known as cassava that grows under the ground, like the potato. They also eat queen ants and egg sacs. Cash crops like coffee, maize and cocoa are also grown.
The rainforests provide a lot of wood for the houses. Some families live in thatched houses shaped like beehives. There are other large apartment like houses called 'Maloca' with a steeply slanting roof.

The rainforest is rich in fauna. Birds such as toucans, humming birds, bird of paradise with their brilliantly coloured plumage, oversized bills for eating make them different from birds we commonly see in India.
These birds also make loud sounds in the forests. Animals like monkeys, sloth and ant-eating tapirs are found here. Various species of reptiles and snakes also thrive in these jungles.
Crocodiles, snakes, pythons abound, anaconda and boa constrictor are some of the species. Besides, the basin is home to thousands of species of insects. Several species of fishes including the flesh-eating Piranha fish is also found in the river. This basin is thus extraordinarily rich in the variety of life found there.

Life of the people of the Amazon Basin is slowly changing. In the older days, the heart of the forest could be reached only by navigating the river. In 1970, the Trans Amazon highway made all parts of the rainforest accessible. Aircrafts and helicopters are also used for reaching various places.
The indigenous population was pushed out from the area and forced to settle in new areas where they continued to practice their distinctive way of farming. The developmental activities are leading to the gradual destruction of the biologically diverse rainforests. It is estimated that a large area of the rainforest has been disappearing annually in the Amazon Basin.

The basin area has varied topography. The environment plays a dominant role in the distribution of the population. The mountain areas with steep slopes have inhospitable terrain. Therefore, less number of people live in the mountain area of the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin. The plain area provides the most suitable land for human habitation.
The soil is fertile. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people where flat land is available to grow crops. The density of population of the plains is very high. The main crop is paddy. Since, cultivation of paddy requires sufficient water, it is grown in the areas where the amount of rainfall is high.

(i) The vegetation cover of this area varies according to the type of landforms. In the Ganga and Brahmaputra plain, tropical deciduous trees grow, along with teak, sal and pee pal.
(ii) Thick bamboo groves are common in the Brahmaputra plain. The delta area is covered with the mangrove forests.
(iii) In parts of Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, coniferous trees like pine, deodar and fir can be seen because the climate is cool and the slopes are steep

There is a variety of wildlife in the Ganga- Brahamaputra basin:
(i) Elephants, tigers, deers and monkeys are common here.
(ii) The one-horned rhinoceros is found in the Brahmaputra plain.
(iii) In the delta area, Bengal tiger, crocodiles and alligator are found.
(iv) Aquatic life abounds in the fresh river waters, the lakes and the Bay of Bengal. The most popular varieties of the fish are the rohu, catla and hilsa.

(i) People grow most of their food in small areas after clearing some trees in the forest. Work is distributed among men and women. Men hunt and fish along the rivers and women take care of the crops.
(ii) They mainly grow tapioca, pineapple and sweet potato. Cash crops like coffee, maize and cocoa are also grown. They practise "slash and burn agriculture"
(iii) As hunting and fishing are uncertain it is the women who keep their families alive by feeding them the vegetables they grow.
(iv) The staple food is manioc, also known as cassava, that grows under the ground like the potato. They also eat queen ants and egg sacs
(v) The rainforests provide a lot of wood for the houses. Some families live in thatched houses shaped like beehives. There are other large apartments-like houses called Maloca with a steeply slanting roof.

The rainforests of the Amazon Basin is rich in fauna:
Birds such as toucans, humming birds, bird of paradise with their brilliantly coloured plumage, oversized bills for eating are found here. These birds also make loud sounds in the forests.
Animals like monkeys, sloth and ant-eating tapirs are found here.
Various species of reptiles and snakes also thrive in these jungles. A large number of Crocodiles, snakes, pythons are found here. Anaconda and boa constrictor are some of the species.
Besides, the basin is home to thousands of species of insects.
Several species of fishes including the flesh eating Piranha fish is also found in the river. This basin is thus extraordinarily rich in the variety of life found there.