... rainforests have gone extinct?

Located north and south of the equator, rainforests can mostly be found in parts of Africa, Asia and Central and South America. Even though only about 6% of our planet is covered by its oldest living ecosystem, it accommodates more than half of the world’s flora and fauna, accounting for around 30 million species. At least two-thirds of the plants known by man are said to be found in the rainforests. The world’s largest tropical forest, the Amazon rainforest, alone contains around 10% of the species known.

Biodiversity is however not it’s only feature. Known as the “Lungs of Earth”, rainforests are responsible for about 28% of the world’s oxygen turnover. Millions and millions of trees absorb tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide, converting it into oxygen, on which our survival relies.

By producing large amounts of rainfall every year, the forest plays a significant role in maintaining the water cycle and helps regulate and stabilize the Earth’s climate as it acts as heat and water pump. Aside from that it prevents flooding and ensures that rivers continue to flow during periods of lower rainfall, as it functions like a giant sponge, soaking up moisture and then releasing it slowly.

Something many people might not be aware of is that even though less than 1% of the rainforests flora has been tested for pharmaceutical usage, the origin of 25% of all modern medicines lies in those forests. According to scientists more than 2,000 plants found in rainforests have anti-cancer properties. The US National Cancer Institute even stated that 70% of the plants used in cancer treatments can be found in rainforest only.

The forest however, does not only provide us with medicine but supplies food and other products as well. Coffee, nuts, fruits, rubber; those are only a few of the products originating from the forests.

We might however face a complete loss of the rainforests and as a result a devastating chain of events both locally and around the world within the next decade, if society’s approaches to certain topics are not reconsidered and drastic counteractive measures implemented.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations about half of the world’s rainforests have already been cleared. The World Wildlife Fund stated that the Earth approximately loses 7.3 million hectares of forest every year, which is roughly the size of Panama, and equals to 27 soccer fields per minute.

The everlasting destruction of forests with the purpose of making land available for other uses, also known as deforestation, has varying reasons and is said to be one of the contributing factors to climate change. The cleared area is often used for housing, urbanization, cattle ranching, timber cultivation, the production of highly prized consumer goods and of course palm oil plantations. The WWF reported that half of the illegally removed trees from the forests are used for fuel.

Possible and probable consequences of the rainforest's extinction will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

Disturbance of native people; with the permanent destruction of the forests native tribes’ would find themselves without homes and foundation for their natural way of living. They would be lacking their basis of existence, making it almost impossible for them to survive.

Loss of species; this would definitely have an effect on every single one of us. Deforestation results in the loss of natural habitats, which leads to the extinction of species in the long run. Medical research and local populations, which rely on the forest for hunting and medicine, would be affected as well. Without the rainforest the chance to make use of the 75,000 edible plants, of which only about 150 enter world’s commerce, would be lost. The small number of plants used, is one of the reasons why modern agriculture is already more vulnerable to pests, disease and changing climate than ever before.

Natural disasters; due to the shrinking number of trees and decrease in the size of rainforests, the Earth’s water cycle is affected, leading to natural disasters around the world. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are a great example for that. While both countries are located on the same island, Haiti has considerably less forest than the Dominican Republic, resulting in more extreme flooding, soil erosion and landslide issues. Also in Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines major floods have been attributed to deforestation.

Quality of water; if lakes, streams and other water sources are contaminated with silt, which can be a side effect of soil erosion, it results in poor water quality and contributes to health problems in local populations.

Even though we are already facing some of the effects of forest clearance a complete extinction would lead to severe impacts on everyone’s lives. However, there might be hope for a better future.

Brazil and Indonesia, the two countries that hold the largest amount of rainforest worldwide have acknowledged its importance and taken innovative and aggressive measures to put a stop to the rainforest’s clearing.

The second circumstance that leads us to the assumption that there might be hope is the growing understanding that reducing carbon dioxide and halting deforestation are closely linked together.

Let’s just hope that we are able to stop the rainforest’s extinction before we reach a point of no return.