1. Deforestation

2. Results by 2050 Loss of 97% of the Earth’s old-growth forests; Loss of 84% of the tropical rainforests (about 47 million square kilometers); Extinction of more than 3 million species; No original forests in Madagascar and Amazon; 80% of the infertile soils. ATTENTION: We are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year.

3. Ecological impact • Global warming; • 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions; • Up to 1/3 of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.

5. Hydrologic impact DO YOU KNOW …? • … that tropical rainforests produce about 30% (!!!) of our planet’s fresh water. Dramatic alterations in the water cycle • Erosion • Flooding • Landslides Much drier climate

6. Impact on human beings • 25% of medicines comes from the forests; • Forest biotopes are irreplaceable source of new medicines (like taxol); • They help to prolong the human race.

7. Main causes • Wood extraction; • Slash-and-burn farming; • Infrastructure expansion; • Cattle-raising; • Mining and oil exploitation; • Acid rains and fire.

8. Who might have thought? • 11 million acres have been cut for commercial and property industries annually; • McDonald’s have been cutting 800 square miles of trees to make the amount of paper needed for a year’s supply of packaging; • 500,000 pairs of chopsticks have been produced a day.

9. What should have been done? • Stop leading that profligate way of life; • Use alternative materials; • Enact regulations of logging; • Invest in tree plantations; • Think about the future not the present.

10. Thank you for attention!