Threats to the Rainforest
There are more people on earth today than any other time in history. They need both food and the land on which to grow it. Rainforest is being destroyed as people clear land to make room for housing and farming. Almost all of the remaining rainforest is found in Third World countries. These poor nations see the forest as a valuable resource to be sold for profit. In some countries, the sale of timber can finance much-needed hospitals and schools, as well as aid in economic growth.
What is it?
Occupying 4 million square miles of the wettest land in the world, the evergreen tropical rainforest is a complex habitat. Its animal and plant communities coexist in a unique balance with a climate that they largely create themselves. Nearly all life is concentrated in the treetops.
All Life at Risk
The rainforest is vital to man's survival. The plants it contains are used for both food and medicine. One in 10 of the most commonly used medicines are derived from plants of the rainforest. More importantly, the earth's atmosphere is sustained by the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange that takes place when plants convert sunlight into energy. The rainforest, with its many plants, plays a huge role. As the rainforest is burned, millions of tons of carbon dioxide are released into the air. This upsets the balance of atmosphereic gases and contributes to global warming - known as the greenhouse effect. The rainforest also helps to regulate rainfall and wind currents by absorbing much of the harmful solar energy. Its destruction would affect weather patterns throughout the world. The continued destruction of the rainforests will not only kill plants and animals, but will adversely affect the earth's atmosphere. Rainforests absorb a great deal of solar energy. If they are destroyed, the earth will likely experiance global warming.
Distribution
Rainforests occur mainly in the Amazon, the Guinea-Congo region of Africa, and in the Malay Archipelago. They also occur from the Western Chats of India to the tropical islands of the Pacific. There are also rainforest in Madagascar and the Mascarenes.
The need for Action
An estimated 71 million acres of rainforest are being destroyed each year. At this rate, there will be no forests remaining by the year 2035. More than 10 percent of the vast Amazonian rainforest has already been destroyed. So much of the forest has been burned that observers recall a wall of fire thousands of miles in lenght. Planes at the airport in La Paz, 5,000 feet up in the Andes, have been grounded because the smoke was so dense. This destruction continues on an enormous scale.
What you can do
Some rainforest exploitation is necessary to provide farming and ranching land for impoverished local populations. But we must do everything we can to see that it is done responsibly. We can: Support conservation groups in their fight to preserve the rainforest. Boycott retailers who sell cheap beef products and tell them why you are not buying their goods. Not to use tropical hardwoods.
Home
| 
