We depend upon the rainforest for everything
Rainforest is Earth’s most essential ecosystem, and we all depend on it for our survival.
In the Amazon rainforest alone, a single square mile of rainforest often houses more than 50,000 insect species.
Tropical forests have the highest carbon density of all forest types due to their ability for vast carbon sequestration. Therefore, protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions we can take to tackle climate breakdown.
Deforestation releases as much carbon into the atmosphere as the global transport sector and destroys the best carbon capture and storage technology we have.
The reality of climate change is no longer up for debate. It is real and it is happening now. Our changing climate is the most pressing challenge facing our world today. Forest loss plays a major part in this, contributing to more than 12% of all CO2 emissions. Keeping rainforest standing is the simplest and cheapest way to mitigate climate change.
Despite this, we are destroying the world’s rainforest at a faster rate than ever.
Of the world’s remaining forests,
46% are fragmented,
30% are degraded,
and only 24% are intact
This loss is not just a crisis for the planet but a tragedy for local people who depend upon the forest for everything.
In 2018, over 12 million hectares of rainforest – the size of Belgium – were cut down. With increasing logging, palm plantations and small-scale slash and burn, we need to take action today if we want rainforest to exist in the next 20 years.
Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions we can take to tackle climate breakdown. But keeping pristine, primary rainforest standing strong is also essential for many further reasons:
Fresh Water
Rainforests are part of a global irrigation system – the ‘biopump’ that helps form clouds and distribute fresh water around the planet. As rainforests shrink, droughts increase, already affecting crop growth worldwide.
Supporting People
Rainforests are home to 350 million people around the tropics. They are essential for shelter, health and food as well as being an intrinsic part of their cultures and traditions.
Rich Biodiversity
Megadiverse ecosystems, rainforests are home to millions of species. And protecting these are vital. We are losing around 135 plants, animal and insect species every day. That’s 50,000 species a year, due to deforestation.
Carbon Sequestration
All plants absorb carbon dioxide, storing it in their leaves, stems and roots. The planet’s rainforests are capable of providing 23% of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed before 2030 [1].
Albedo Effect
Like the polar ice caps, tropical rainforests reflect heat back into space. This is called the albedo effect. By keeping mature forest canopy in the equatorial latitudes, we are reducing the heat absorbed by the land.
Fertile soils
A single spoonful of soil in the rainforest contains 10,000 to 50,000 different types of bacteria and supports millions of species of fungi, plant and animal If deforestation happens, the nutrients and bacteria are lost, for good.