New Page 6

What are Rainforests?	Animals of the Rainforest	Native People
Rainforest Plants	Why are they in danger?	Rainforest story and poems
Fascinating Facts!!	Rainforest Fun!!	Home

Why are they in danger?

Now that you have learned about the tropical rainforest, you can see what a wonderful place it is! We have met some of the animals and plants that live there, who call it home.

Flooded.jpg (17117 bytes) But the rainforests are in trouble, and many of my fellow rainforest inhabitants are in danger of extinction! Lets find out why this is.

butterfly.gif (8949 bytes) Farming is one big reason why some rainforests are disappearing. In many rainforest regions, there are small farmers who can't afford to own land. They clear areas in the rainforest to grow their crops. But the land in the rainforest is not suitable for growing them, so they have to keep clearing different areas. Every time they do this, they destroy more of the rainforests.

The logging of trees in the rainforest is also destroying rainforest land. Logging companies cut down thousands of trees every day, because trees are used for many different purposes including building houses, making furniture, providing pulp for making newspapers, magazines and lots of other paper products. Every time logging companies cut down trees in the rainforest, it takes years for newly planted trees to grow back.

Ranching is another reason why rainforests are in danger. The effect of ranching is a lot like farming. Ranchers graze their cattle on pastures, which have been cleared in the rainforests. They do this because this land dosn't cost them anything. Some big fast food chains buy this beef to sell hamburgers at a low price. So to make money, the ranchers buy cattle, clear more land and destroy the rainforests!!

How can we help the rainforests?

Now you know some of the reasons why the rainforests are in danger, lets try to think of ways to save it. Here are some ideas........

One way in which we can help save the rainforests is by boycotting companies that harm the rainforest environment. This means that we would refuse to buy products made by these companies. If enough people did this, it might force them to change their ways!!

Something which can be and is being done is the creation of special areas called reserves. This means that the land and the creatures must not be harmed. However, this requires lots of money which the countries containing rainforests can't afford. Some western governments have donated money, but the remainder must be raised by other interested groups.

Many countries where tropical rainforests exist are crippled by enormous debts owed to foreign countries. To pay these, the country must increase exports, which means that activities such as logging and mining in tropical rainforests are increased, causing furthur damage. If these foreign countries could cancel some of these debts, on the condition that the money would be spent on preserving the rainforests, many tropical forests could be saved.