Rainforest-Why we need them?

• Rainforests are a vital source of medicines. Today, less than 1 percent of the worlds tropical forest plants have been tested for pharmaceutical properties, yet a quarter of all modern medicines came originally from rainforests.

• Many of our edibles including coffee, cocoa, many fruits and nuts, spices, rice originated in the rainforests. Other RF products include rubber, gums, resins, dyes, tannins and cane.

• Tropical forests regulate global and regional climate-systems by acting as heat and water pumps. They release moisture into the atmosphere which returns to the ground as rain. When the forest is cleared, the water cycle is disrupted, temperatures increase, droughts become common, and eventually deserts may form.

• Rainforests also act like giant sponges, soaking up moisture, and then releasing it slowly. This moderates the flow of rivers thus preventing flooding and ensures that rivers and creeks continue to flow during periods of lower rainfall.

• Scientists now say that the rainforest ecosystem in the Brazilian Amazon is a net absorber of carbone dioxide, and therefore helps to protect the earth against the greenhouse effect. This means that primary forests may be more important as carbon sinks than either young secondary forests or plantations.