Rainforests
Rainforests grow in countries near the equator. They receive 2 metres to 10 metres of rain every year.
There have been rainforests on Earth for over 75 million years. That makes them the oldest habitats on the planet.
Nearly 60% of rainforests are in Central and South America. The rest are in West Africa, Zaire, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Half of all the species of butterflies, birds, flowers, trees and insects live in rainforests. Fifty species become extinct every day.
People in the Rainforest
Tribes have lived in the rainforests of South America for over 10,000 years. People like these have the oldest culture on Earth. But now they are in serious danger. When Columbus sailed to the Americas 500 years ago, between six million and nine million people lived in the Amazon rainforest. Today, that number is less than 200,000. Since 1900, 87 tribes have disappeared completely. Why? Because outsiders shot them, poisoned them and gave them diseases.
Why is the Crisis Happening?
There are two main reasons:
# Third World farmers don't have enough land.
800 million people in the Third World have nowhere to grow food for their families. 250 million of them are destroying the rainforest simply to live.
# rich countries depend on rainforest products.
Modern life in the First World depends on rainforest products.
These include:
# minerals - experts say that man has discovered only 10% of the minerals in the Amazon area;
# wood - America alone already imports $2 billion of rainforest wood;
# medicine - 25% of all medicines contain rainforest products;
# rubber – for tyres on cars, buses and lorries all over the world.
The Effects of the Crisis
The world's rainforests are facing a total disaster.
Some scientists say it's even worse than the effects of a nuclear war. The rainforest fires in Africa, for example, are so big that they appear in satellite photos.
It's not just a question of disappearing tribes, trees and species. It's a question of climate, too. Our planet needs healthy rainforests to control its temperature. Without them, the Greenhouse Effect will just get worse and worse.
(Source: The Green World - Macmillan Dossier)
An appeal made by Sting
Topic: Rainforests
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