Rainforest end

How to save the Rainforest

Today tropical rainforests are disappearing from the face of the globe.

Despite growing international concern, rainforests continue to be destroyed at a pace exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day.

Tropical cover now stands at 2 billion hectares (7.7 million sq miles), an area about the size of the United States plus China
and representing around 13 percent of the world's land surface.

Much of this remaining area has been impacted by human activities and no longer retains its full original biodiversity.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests has a global impact through species extinction,
the loss of important ecosystem services and renewable resources, and the reduction of carbon sinks.

However, this destruction can be slowed, stopped, and in some cases even reversed.

Most people agree that the problem must be remedied, but the means are not as simple as fortifying fences
around the remaining rainforests or banning the timber trade. Economic,
political, and social pressures will not allow rainforests to persist if they are completely closed off from use and development.

So, what should be done?

The solution must be based on what is feasible, not overly idealistic, and depends on developing a conservation
approach built on the principle of sustainable use and development of rainforests.

Beyond the responsible development of rainforests, efforts to rehabilitate and restore degraded forest lands along with the establishment
of protected areas are key to securing rainforests for the long-term benefits they can provide mankind.

Source: Rainforests Mongabay