The Importance of Rainforests

1. TheImportance of Rainforests By Maria Ximena Arteaga, Daniella Blanco, Carolina Fuchs, Marie Claire Garnierand Maria Itziar Aguilar

2. Biodiversity and impacts in rainforests • Biodiversity has become a major environmental issue this last decades since environments are being degraded at an accelerating rate. • In many parts of the world much diversity is being lost by the destruction of natural habitats • The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List (animals in danger) stated that a third of amphibians, 23% of mammals, 12% of birds and around 20% of plants and fish are threaten with extinction.

3. Causes Some of the reasons researchers have found are: • Habitat loss • Overexploitation • Destruction by invasive alien species • Climate change • Living dead species are reffered to the species which are low in numbers in which they cannot maintain a viable populatio • Current species loss has been about 1000 times the ‘background’ rate experienced before the Industrial Revolution • Predictions that alarm everyone is that as many as a half of all current species could be lost.

4. Biodiversityhotspots • This are areas of particularly high biodiversity within countries. • It has been estimated than 25 land-based hotspots which only cover 1.4% of the Earth’s surface is distributed this way: - 25% of all birds - 54% of amphibians - 30% of mammals - 44% of plants

5. Ecologicalvalue • Makesecosystems more stable and less vulnerable to extreme events • Strength of natural cycles: energy, water, carbon, oxygen and nitrogencycle. • Helptomaintainhumidenvironment and more variety of species.

6. Example: Amazon rainforest • providesessentialenvironmentalservice of continuouslyrecyclingcarbondioxideintooxygen. • 20% of world’soxygen • Known as thelungs of theplanet.

7. Economicvalue • bologicallydiversenatualenvironmentsprodive human populationwiththenecessities of life and formsthebasisfortheeconomy (food, primarygoods, etc.) • evrythingwe use and trade comes fromthe natural world

8. Crops and plantations • 1650 known tropical forestplantshavethepotentialgrow as vegetable crops, whichincrementsthevaritety of cropsgrownnow a days. • 30 cropssupplyabout 90% of thecalories in the global human diet

9. Health and Medicine • rainforest flora isanimportantresoure of medicines and drugs. • 25% of western pharmaceiticals are derivedfromrainforestingredients • 3000 plantspecies are active combatersagainstcancercells and 70% of them are found in the tropical rainforest • 25% of the active ingredients in cancer-fightingdrugs come fromthe tropical rainforestsexclusively.

10. Cultural Value • mostpeoplefeelconnectedtonature in varyingdegrees • somepeoplefeelstrong spiritual bondsthantmay be rooted in ourcommonbiologicalancestry • the cultural diversity in inextricablylinkedtoEarth'sbiodiversity • thousands of cultural groupsaroundtheworldeachhavedistincttraditions and knowledgeforrelatingtothe natural world

11. in rainforestsindigenouspeoplewhohavelived in theseenvironmenttforthousands of yearsusually place verydifferentvaluesontherainforestenvoronment in contrasttooutsidegroupscomingintothebiome • because of itsintrinsiccharacteristics, manypeoplefromotherenvironmentsnowvisitorwanttovisitareas of rainforest

12. Rainforest Uses… • directuse values( goods): food, medicines, buildingmaterials, fibre and fuel • indirect use values (servieces): atmospheric and climateregulation, pollination, nutrientrecyclying. cultural, spiritual and aesthetic. • non-use values: potentialvalue ( futurevalueeither as a goodor a servie), exitencevalue (value of knowingsomethingexists), bequestvalue ( value of knowingthatsomethingwill be thereforfuturegenerations)