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Why Rainforests Matter

a selection of images from the rainforest

Images courtesy of L-R Gabriel Eickhoff. Yalda Davis, Survival International, Yalda Davis 

Introduction

The world faces a rapidly approaching global crisis as a result of the loss of the remaining old growth tropical rainforests. Only a few thousand years ago these magnificent natural resources covered as much as 12% of the Earth’s land surface, today that figure has been reduced to less than 5%. Forests provide a suite of ecosystem services and goods, including mitigating floods, stabilizing soil, hosting biodiversity, and. vitally for our climate, carbon sequestration [read more]


Where they are

Tropical rainforests lie between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. In total, over 80 tropical countries are considered rainforest owning nations [read more]


What makes a rainforest

Tropical rainforests have evolved over millions of years into highly complex ecosystems, irrevocably linking them to Earth's habitability for mankind [read more]


Environmental services

The most publicised environmental impact of tropical rainforests is their deforestation and the release of carbon dioxide in smoke, but intact rainforests provide invaluable ecosystem services for the local, national and global communities [read more]