Rainforest Destruction

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Rainforest Destruction
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(No Transcript)
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Environmental Effects
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Rainforests Role
A short clip about the Amazon
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Destruction by Burning

• The destruction of rainforests is also one of the
  major contributors to global climate change, as
  many rainforests are burned, releasing carbon
  dioxide into the atmosphere
• Source The Rainforest Foundation
• Click Here for a short video of rainforest burning

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Soil Erosion and Depletion

• Extensive areas of the tropical rainforest have
  been cleared to grow pasture for cattle rearing
  and to cultivate crops for subsistence and
  commercial agriculture

Source http//library.thinkquest.org/26993/amazon
.htm
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• The rainforests cover less than 7 percent of the
  Earth's total surface area, yet the world's
  rainforests are home to 50 percent of the Earth's
  plants and animals Source The Nature
  Conservancy
• The rain forest is being destroyed at the rate of
  nearly 96,000 acres every day, resulting in the
  extinction of many wild species
• Source The National Arbor Day Foundation

Species Extinction
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Social Impacts
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Indigenous Peoples

• Rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on
  the planet, as well as being the home to an
  estimated 50 million indigenous forest
  peopleSource The Rainforest Foundation
• Destruction of our rainforests is not only
  causing the extinction of plant and animal
  species, it is also wiping out indigenous peoples
  who live in the rainforest
• Source http//www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm

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Medicines
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Medicines derived from Rainforest plants

• One-fourth of all pharmaceutical medicines have
  active ingredients derived from tropical
  rainforest species.
• Future discoveries in new medicines are dependent
  upon preserving the rainforest species.
• A typical four square mile patch of rainforest
  contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750
  species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150
  species of butterflies. Source The Nature
  Conservancy
• Scientists have identified 3,000 plants as having
  anti-cancer properties... and 70 of those plants
  are found ONLY in the rain forest.
• Source The National Arbor Day Foundation

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• About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from
  rainforest plants. Curare comes from a tropical
  vine, and is used as an anesthetic and to relax
  muscles during surgery. Quinine, from the
  cinchona tree, is used to treat malaria. A person
  with lymphocytic leukemia has a 99 chance that
  the disease will go into remission because of the
  rosy periwinkle. More than 1,400 varieties of
  tropical plants are thought to be potential cures
  for cancer.
• Source http//www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainfores
  t.htm

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Rainforest species used for medicinal purposes

• Cocoa Tree - Anxiety, fever, fatigue, cough,
  anemia, emaciation, kidney stones, cuts, burns,
  heart disease, immune system, and cancer.
• Avocado - Dysentery, gum disease, coughs, cancer,
  and eye disease.
• Rosy Periwinkle - cancer, childhood leukemia.
• Wild Yam - birth control pill, digestion, reduce
  inflammation, pain, arthritis, and rheumatism.
• Golden Trumpet - laxative, jaundice, enlarged
  spleen, malaria, antibiotic source.
• Angel Trumpet - Parkinson disease and asthma.

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More rainforest species used for medicinal
purposes

• Annatto Lipstick Tree - repels bites, love
  potion, and snakebites.
• Pineapple - jaundice, warts, respiratory,
  anti-inflammatory, burns, wounds, improves
  absorption of antibiotics.
• Trumpet Tree - respiratory illness, high blood
  pressure, rheumatism, warts, ulcers, painkiller,
  bronchitis, snakebites, diabetes, hypertension,
  obesity, bacterial infections, cancer, heart
  stimulate, diuretic properties.
• Poison Dart Frog - painkiller (non addictive),
  and heart attacks.
• Millipede - antimicrobial insect repellent and
  narcotic source.

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Costa Ricas Osa Peninsula
Costa Rica An Example for the Future

• After abolishing its army in 1949, Costa Rica's
  leaders diverted military funds into a
  leading-edge conservation strategy
  constitutional guarantees to a healthy and
  ecologically balanced environment.
• Costa Rica has become such a magnet for
  ecological studies that more than 50 North
  American colleges and universities have training
  programs in the country.

Corcovado National Park
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Costa Rica cont

• 12 percent of the land is now secured in national
  parks, and another 16 percent is protected in
  private nature and forests. The Ministry of
  Natural Resources guarantees as much as 90
  percent of the country's biological diversity
  will be protected.
• (Source http//www.globalvolunteers.org/1main/cos
  tarica/costaricageography.htm)

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Rainforest Overview

• Tropical rainforests produce 40 of Earth's
  oxygen
• Scientists estimate that more than half of all
  the world's plant and animal species live in
  tropical rain forests
• About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from
  rainforest plants
• The soil of the tropical rainforests is shallow,
  very poor in nutrients and almost without soluble
  minerals
• An average of 50 to 260 inches (125 to 660 cm) of
  rain falls yearly

Source http//www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest
.htm