Why Are the Rain Forests Being Destroyed Rain forest products A large number of everyday foodstuffs that we enjoy today have their origins in the rain forests of the world For example bananas peppers peanuts coffee tea cola cocoa vanilla sugar and many spices all come from the world’s rain forests although some have been adapted over the years to grow in other climate zones Valuable tropical woods including mahogany teak rosewood and sandalwood are used to make furniture ornaments and perfumes In the home oils gums and resins that have been sourced from the rain forests are found in such everyday items as soaps varnish and wood-finishing products fuel paint insecticides detergents and disinfectants Rain forest medicines Perhaps even more important than the household products we are all familiar with are the medicines that originate in the rain forest So far more than 2,000 rain forest plants have been identified as having anti-cancer properties Scientists have tested only 10 percent of these plants and have studied only 1 percent of them in detail About 25 percent of all medicines used by people in the US are made from ingredients originating in the rain forest Curare which is a substance extracted from a rain forest vine is commonly used in carefully measured doses in surgery as a muscle relaxant However tribal peoples use curare in stronger doses as a poison on darts and arrows when hunting The rosy periwinkle from the rain forests of Madagascar off the east coast of Africa is used to treat leukemia Who knows how many other cures remain undiscovered deep in the forests Climate regulation Rain forests store a colossal amount of water it is thought that up to half of the world’s rainwater Moisture that evaporates from the forest gathers in clouds above the canopy When the vapor condenses it creates the conditions for the forest’s daily downpour 10
sun CO2 Why do we need the rain forests is stored in rain forests The trees draw in the water and release it into the atmosphere through evaporation as swirling mists and clouds The rain forests recycle huge amounts of water every day and this helps to feed rivers lakes and irrigation systems preventing droughts and the famine and disease that follow them O2 water and minerals Photosynthesis in action Water absorbed by the plant’s roots combines with carbon dioxide CO2 from the air and sunlight to produce starch energy for the plant and oxygen O2 The lungs of the planet During the day rain forests absorb carbon dioxide CO2 from the atmosphere The plants make their food using a process called photosynthesis In photosynthesis leaves absorb carbon dioxide from the air combine it with water sucked up by the plant’s roots and with the aid of sunlight convert them into sugars This provides the fuel the plants need to survive As a by-product of photosynthesis plants produce oxygen O2 which is released into the atmosphere The vast number of trees and other plants growing in the rain forests help to maintain the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere throughout the entire world F O RU M When you see pictures of the rain forests there are so many trees it seems impossible that they could all be destroyed It requires a little imagination to realize they are all under threat The rain forests are miles away why should I care Student US They may be far away but the world needs the rain forests and you probably use products from the rain forest every day What’s your opinion Teacher US With their enormous range of animal and plant species the foods materials and medicines they provide and the crucial contribution they make to circulating the planet’s water and regulating the world’s atmosphere the rain forests are enormously important Yet despite all of this they are being destroyed at an alarming rate
Chapter 2 What are the threats to the rain forest It is amazing how a simple act such as building a road can cause so much damage in the rain forest Where roads have been created to open up areas that were previously inaccessible tens of thousands of settlers and developers have followed As an initial consequence the newcomers push out the native peoples who may have been living undisturbed in the forest for centuries Roads across the rain forest The Trans-Amazonian Highway built in the 1970s stretches 2,000 miles 3,200 kilometers across the Amazon from east to west in northern Brazil The Brazilian government’s plan was to create settlements in previously unused areas They offered settlers 250-acre 100-hectare plots six months salary and easy access to agricultural loans Costs spiraled and the project ended up costing 65,000 per family settled Because the forest soils were so unstable and easily eroded the road was often impassable harvests failed and in some places up to 46 tons 50 metric tons of soil per acre of land were washed away into the rivers during The destructive effects of road building in the rain forests can be clearly seen in this photograph While the forest on the right remains untouched that to the left is a scene of utter devastation 12
This soybean plantation located in Brazil stretches over some 1 2 million acres 494,000 hectares and produces more than 660,000 tons 600,000 metric tons of soybeans per year Virgin rain forest is cut down and destroyed to make way for soybean plantations the rains More recently plans have been drawn up to improve another road through the Brazilian Amazon BR-163 which stretches for 1,100 miles 1,770 kilometers from Cuiaba near the Bolivian border to Santarem on the banks of the Amazon About 600 miles 965 kilometers of it is still dirt track but the Brazilian government plans to pave all of it and this is a real cause for concern among environmentalists Agriculture The first 450 miles 725 kilometers of BR-163 are already paved On either side of it for as far as the eye can see what was once forest is now rolling fields The main crop grown is soybeans half of which is exported to countries in the European Union The soya crop is the main reason for paving the rest of BR-163 Santarem has a deep-water FOCUS You used to see tapirs capybaras even jaguars by the side of the road Now you hardly see anything When the paving comes you’ll be able to get everything out and you will finish off the forest completely port and a paved BR-163 would shorten the journey of the soybean crop by 600 miles 965 kilometers over land and by a similar distance by sea saving on transportation costs and increasing producers profits Gustavo Hering truck driver on BR-163 The forests surrounding the unpaved section of BR-163 are much less affected by human activities but they are also lawless with murders frequently committed Most murders involve disputes about land although the government encouraged 13
