The tropical rainforest holds millions of unique plants, animals, and people. This important environmental treasure is being destroyed rapidly for multiple reasons. This will certainly have serious negative effects on biodiversity, the climate and people.
One of the main causes of destruction is logging for timber. Millions of trees are cut down every year, often illegally, and the valuable wood is taken and not replaced.
Besides, trees are cut down to use as firewood, especially in developing countries. Clearing is used, as well, to create land for grazing cattle and for growing crops.
Due to this deforestation, thousands of species of animals and plants disappear each year. These plants and animals could provide us with food, medicine or valuable products. So, this leads to a poorer world with less biodiversity.
In addition, the destruction of the rainforest results in exposing the soil to the heavy rain and to the sun, making it very dry and eventually, infertile and useless. Thus, the forest cannot grow again, and the people who used the land have to move on.
Another serious effect is global warming. When the trees in the rainforest are cut down, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide acts as a blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and warming the planet.
To sum up, the rainforest is important for the environment because it produces oxygen, stores carbon and has huge stores of timber, minerals, medicinal plants and food. I hope that each and everyone of us will take some action to address this problem and stop the disaster before it’s too late.
N.B.
