Saving the Rainforests Tropical Rainforests

Saving the Rainforests Tropical rainforests are dense, wet forests, found in high rainfall regions close to the equator. The high rainfall (at least 100 inches annually) and steady warm temperatures produce luxurious forest growth. Rainforests used to cover 14% of the Earth's land. Now they cover less than 6%. Most of the rainforests have been destroyed in the last 50 years. The rainforest is home to over fifty percent of all plants and animals on earth (Highland Park Elementary School, 1995). The rainforest breathes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen.

Some rainforests are an untouched frontier, with many new animals and even new tribes of people. The rainforest provides many benefits to humans, animals, the world, and our environment. However, there are many dangers to the rainforest. One danger is that people and corporations are destroying trees in the rainforest. They are also killing animals that are in the food chain and destroying their habitats. The dangers for the rainforests include the forests being cut down for wood and burned to make room for crops and cattle pastures.

There is habitat destruction. People burn acres of land in the rainforest. They show no respect for rainforests. A lot of habitats are destroyed, even though they are necessary for animals and people to survive. In 1993, the National Wildlife Federation published ten reasons why the rainforests should be saved (Highland Park Elementary School, 1995): People have no right to destroy the rainforests for their own purposes. Destroying the forests may change the world's weather patterns. The loss of the forests is causing serious problems such as soil erosion and water pollution.

Wood products in which the rest of the world depends may soon become scarce and more expensive. Many migrating birds common in North America depend on the rainforest habitats. The loss of the rainforest may affect these species. Cultures of the forests are losing their native lands. They have a right to live where and how they want. There are many plants that could help scientists develop new crops, medicines, and other products. We don't want to lose our knowledge of the rainforest plants, animals and other information.

Rainforests are exotic and unique where strange plants and animals live that inspires many people. The forests contain more than 50% of all plant and animals species in the world. Destroying the forests will destroy these species forever. So little has been researched in the forests that could provide people with many beneficial products, even a possible cure for cancer." There has been an increasing interest around the world for the adoption of reduced impact logging (RIL) as a way to move towards sustainable forest management (van der Hout and Marshall, 2004).

The main reason for this is that the increased awareness of the negative impacts of poorly planned forestry operations by stakeholders at various levels has put pressure on governments to impose tighter controls on timber harvesting. In addition, global markets now require timber products from well-managed forests, forcing loggers to steer clear of the rainforests. However, the rainforest is not free of danger because of these efforts. Sustainable development of rainforests is an achievable long-term goal, but it is not one that will be easy to achieve.

Sustainability is best defined as using natural resources in a way that does not negatively impact the ability of future generations to use those resources. Preserving the rainforest for future generations requires the cooperation of both companies and individuals to build a system of planting seedlings to replace the trees that are destroyed by logging. Sustainability is a long-term goal and one that is often deterred by short-term goals. Short-term goals often determine the actions of companies and individuals.

Logging companies, whose main priority is to increase profits, may clear-cut the forest. Individuals who live in poverty may use slash-and-burn agriculture in an attempt to provide food for their families. In both cases, the actions are responses to short-term interests and are indicative of the sustainable use of the forest. On a global political level, there is disagreement between developed and developing countries regarding sustainability. Developed countries are pressuring developing countries (which possess most of the rainforests) to conserve their rainforests.

Rainforests create oxygen, absorb greenhouse gases, and provide homes for millions of animal and plant species. Developing countries understand the importance of rainforests, but argue that a great deal of rainforest destruction occurs as a result of consumer demands from developed countries. In particular, they argue that developed countries desire the valuable and increasingly rare rainforest woods such as mahogany. Often, when rainforests are clear-cut, the land is used for cattle grazing.

The cattle are then sold to developed countries for meat consumption since most individuals in developing countries cannot afford to buy meat. In both scenarios, it is the developed countries that create the consumer demands that cause rainforest destruction. The rainforests are very important to the world for a variety of reasons (Kristula, 1997). One major reason is that the plants in the forest change carbon dioxide into clean air, which fights pollution. In addition, by absorbing carbon dioxide, the rainforests help deter the greenhouse effect.

The trees of the rainforest store carbon dioxide in their roots, stems, branches, and leaves. The plants and animals of the rainforest also provide human beings with food, fuel wood, shelter, jobs, and medicines (Kristula, 1997). "Image losing the potential cure for cancer or AIDS that might have been found in an undiscovered plant from the rainforest," says the Tropical Rainforest Coalition (1996). It is an increasingly widespread belief that the rainforest houses important plants that will cure the worst diseases of today (Kristula, 1997).

Although there is scientific proof of its value, the rainforest continues to be cut down. According to the National Forest Association of Forest Industries (1996), "there are about 4 billion hectares of forest in the world, of which about 25% is tropical rainforest." The rainforest provides many benefits to the areas surrounding it and far beyond (Kristula, 1997). "Only 20% of the nutrients of the rainforest are in the soil; 80% of the nutrients remain in the trees and plants. The rainwater of the forest is recycled by evaporation.

Clouds above the forest's canopy help reflect sunlight which keeps temperatures within the forest to remain more stable." However, the soil of the rainforests is only suitable for being rainforest soil, crops do not grow well in it. "When forests are cut down, the soil erodes quickly and soon only a dry desert remains," according to Kristula (1997). One of the main reasons for destruction of the rainforests is logging (Kristula, 1997).

Trees from the rainforest are used to build houses, make furniture, and provide pulp for paper products, such as newspapers and magazines. Rainforest that was destroyed can grow back over time, but they will never have the same variety of plants and animals they once did. Corporations have convinced many rainforest countries that it would improve their economies to allow companies to use the land, and now these countries economies have become dependent on it (Kristula, 1997). With this vicious cycle, the rainforest does not stand a chance. Many stakeholders.