Why are rainforests being destroyed?

The ever-growing human consumption and population is the biggest cause of forest destruction due to the vast amounts of resources, products, services we take from it. Direct human causes of deforestation include logging, agriculture, cattle ranching, mining, oil extraction and dam-building.

Why are rainforests important to Western medicine?

Explain why rainforests are important to Western medicine. Twenty-five percent of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients. Ecotourism is being used to show people the rainforest in its native state and to educate people about how they can help protect it.

How can we protect our rainforests?

Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down. Encourage people to live in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment. Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife. Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment.

Why do we need to protect rainforest?

PRESERVING THE RAINFORESTS We need the rain forests to produce oxygen and clean the atmosphere to help us breathe. We also know that the earth’s climate can be affected, as well as the water cycle. Rainforests also provide us with many valuable medicinal plants, and may be a source of a cure from some deadly diseases.

How does cutting down trees affect us and our environment?

Large scale tree cutting can lead to deforestation, a transformation of an area from forest to terrain with little vegetation. Plants create oxygen and absorb greenhouse gases. The destruction of trees may, therefore, encourage global warming. Changing temperatures can alter which organisms can survive in an ecosystem.

How does deforestation affect the rainforest?

Cutting down rainforests can damage habitat, diminish levels of biodiversity and food sources, degrade the soil, pollute rivers and lands, and cause areas to dry out affecting the overall productivity for the peoples and animals that live there.

How might plants in the rainforest being destroyed affect medicine?

BBC News reports that “Over 50\% of prescription drugs are derived from chemicals first identified in plants.” If deforestation is allowed to continue it potentially prevents scientists, medical professionals and other researchers from studying and analysing different plant and tree species found in forests across the …

What does the rainforest do for us?

Rainforests are often called the lungs of the planet for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and increasing local humidity. Rainforests also stabilize climate, house incredible amounts of plants and wildlife, and produce nourishing rainfall all around the planet.

What is the government doing to protect the Amazon rainforest?

Protecting Forests WWF collaborates with governments across the Amazon to create and manage protected forest areas. In Brazil, through the Amazon Region Protected Areas (ARPA) program, WWF worked to create a network of parks covering 150 million acres of forest.

What are countries like Brazil doing to protect rainforest resources?

What are countries like Brazil doing to protect rainforest resources? Brazil has placed more than 100 million acres of rainforest under a protected status to prevent development and to limit deforestation. This appears to be working, as deforestation peaked in 2004 and is down about 60\%.

Why is the rainforest important to us?

As well as the vivid beauty that comes with great diversity in plants and animals, rainforests also play a practical role in keeping our planet healthy. By absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing the oxygen that we depend on for our survival. The absorption of this CO2 also helps to stabilize the Earth’s climate.

What is the useful effect of cutting trees to the environment?

Plants create oxygen and absorb greenhouse gases. The destruction of trees may, therefore, encourage global warming. Changing temperatures can alter which organisms can survive in an ecosystem.