Tropical forests are more than 50% of all green spaces on the planet. Over 80% of animal and bird species live in these forests. Tropical deforestation is occurring at a rapid pace today. These figures are horrific: in South America, more than 40% of trees have already been cut down, and in Madagascar and West Africa 90%. All this is a global environmental catastrophe.
The Importance of the Rainforest
Why is the forest so important?? The importance of the rainforest for the planet can be listed endlessly, but let’s dwell on the key points:
Tropical forests are a resource that regenerates very slowly, but the rate of deforestation destroys a large number of ecosystems on the planet. Deforestation leads to dramatic temperature changes, changes in air speed and rainfall. The fewer trees growing on the planet, the more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect increases. Swamps or semi-deserts and deserts are formed on the site of cut down tropical forests, many species of flora and fauna disappear. In addition, groups of environmental refugees are emerging people for whom the forest was a source of livelihood, and now they are forced to look for a new home and sources of income.
How to save the rainforest
Today, experts offer several ways to save the rainforest. Every person should join this: it’s time to switch from paper media to electronic ones, to hand over waste paper. At the state level, it is proposed to create a kind of forest farms, where trees that are in demand will be grown. It is necessary to ban deforestation in protected areas and toughen the punishment for violating this law. You can also increase the state duty on wood when exporting it abroad, in order to make the sale of wood not expedient. These actions will help save the planet’s rainforests.
