Losing our Rainforest

Did you know that more than half of Earth’s rainforests have already been forever lost because of our demand for wood and land?
Forests that once grew on 14%of our Earth's surface now cover only about 6%. If our current deforestation rates continue, these amazing habitats could be completely wiped out within the next hundred years or so.

The reasons for this destruction are mainly economic. Wealthy nations control the demand for tropical timber, and not as wealthy governments sometimes grant logging concessions at a small fraction of the land’s true value. Sustainable logging and harvesting, instead of clear-cutting, are amongst the strategies that could be enforced to stop rainforest loss.

The main threats to our forests are:

-Logging interests cut down trees for timber to be used in flooring, furniture, and other things
-Power-plants and other industries cut down and burn trees in order to generate electricity
-The paper industry pulps large amounts of rainforest trees
-The cattle industry uses slash-and-burn techniques to clear land for grazing
-Agricultural interests clear away forests to be used as cropland
-Mining operations destroy forests to build roads and create mines
-Governments clear-cut forests to make room for service and roads
-Hydroelectric projects flood many hectares of rainforest

The ways we can reverse all of this are:

-Sustainable-logging programs that selectively cull trees, rather than clear-cut them. This would save millions of hectares of rainforest every year
-Campaigns to educate people about the destruction caused by rainforest timber and encourage buying sustainable rainforest products, which could lower the demand and slow deforestation
-Encouraging people who live close to rainforests to harvest its bounty (nuts, fruits, medicines) instead of clear-cutting it for farmland