RAINFORESTS DEFORESTATION Africas rainforests are disappearing Original forest

RAINFORESTS & DEFORESTATION

Africa’s rainforests are disappearing. Original forest areas http: //www. global-greenhouse-warming. com/deforestation. html 2005

Threats to C ongo rainfo rest gain speed

U. S. forest destruction http: //www. globalchange. umich. edu/globalchange 2/current/lectures/deforest. html

http: //www. global-greenhouse-warming. com/deforestation. html

Why does it matter that forests worldwide are being cut down? And why are rainforests particularly important? http: //www. developmentforafrica. org/news. shtml

http: //farm 7. static. flickr. com/6195/6046708884_099 df 96 ef 3. jpg HABITAT LOSS: Loss of rainforest means animals are becoming endangered. golden cat http: //www. animalinfo. org/image/pan_pani 2%2018. jpg western gorilla African water shrew http: //quizlet. com/1994211/tenrecs-flash-cards/ chimpanzee http: //www. animalinfo. org/image/G%20 gori 2%20 jpg%2029. jpg

bee eater http: //www. worldbirder. com/photonew/xpages/photo. asp? Photo. ID=4776 leopard http: //www. superstock. com/stock-photos-images/4094 -12246 http: //planetbirds. blogspot. com/2011/05/great-blue-turaco. html http: //news. mongabay. com/2011/0425 -hance_camposarceiz_blake. html Rainforests are home to 50 to 70% of all life forms on Earth. gray parrot great blue turaco http: //www. doityourself. com/stry/africangrey okapi forest elephant gorilla http: //www. okapiconservation. org/conservation-program/okapi-ambassadors/ http: //www. joerl. se/uganda/index. html

MEDICAL IMPACT: Tropical rainforests are the best places for scientists to find plants that can be used to make medicines.

37% of all medicines prescribed in the US have active ingredients that come from rainforest plants. For example, of the approximately 3, 000 plants found to have cancerfighting properties, 70% of them were found in the rainforest. (Reported by The National Cancer Institute)

Pharmacy companies send scientists to rainforests to collect plant specimens and then pay scientists big bucks $$$ to research ways to use them as medicines.

So as rainforest is destroyed, we lose plants – every day – that could be used to discover new medicines.

WEATHER IMPACT:

The tropical rainforests are like giant "heat pumps" that sends heat and moisture from the tropics into the colder high latitudes – making it warmer & sending rain. http: //ecksteineagles. org/6 b-ss/2009/12/16/africa-map/

Original forest areas http: //www. global-greenhouse-warming. com/deforestation. html 2005

Rain forests help produce rainfall in nearby countries. Destruction of rainforests in West African countries may have caused actually two decades of drought in other parts of Africa. Drought hurts farming, and that meant many people starved. -- National Geographic, “Deforestation & Desertification” http: //www. nationalgeographic. com/eye/deforestatio n/effect. html http: //www. nytimes. com/imagepages/2005/05/24/science/24 clim. 1. html

So if it’s such a big problem, why do they keep cutting it down?

1. Farming These African mountains used to be covered with forests. Now they are covered with small farm plots. http: //earthobservatory. nasa. gov/Features/Deforestation/deforestation_update 3. php

Cleared rainforest soil is not great for farming. So families clear more and more land to try and grow enough. http: //openheartorphanage. cfsites. org/custom. php? pageid=42211

What helps? http: //smallfarmersjournal. com/congo-farm-project-from-starvation-to-sustainability • Make natural fertilizer so small farms grow more. • Teach irrigation with water conservation. This Congo farmer uses mulch to keep the hot sun from drying out the soil. Compost is free – made from food trash – and helps crops grow. http: //healingtraumaindrcongo. blogspot. com/2010/03/mumosho-part-i. html

2. Wood for fuel http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/File: Selling_fuelwood. jpeg

Families that cook over an open fire burn about 15 pounds of wood/day. http: //www. flickr. com/photos/mytripsmypics/5709553430/ http: //www. endingextremepoverty. org/2008/12/page/2/

http: //newswatch. nationalgeographic. com/2010/01/31/fuel_project_counters_gorilla_threat/ What helps? • Make better fuel sources. • Use simple ovens (instead of open fires). • Create firewood “farms. ” “Bio bricks” made from recycled paper & other trash burn better and cleaner than wood. Simple, small, clay ovens hold heat better & conserve fuel. http: //charcoalproject. files. wordpress. com/2009/12/kivu-stove-3. jpg “Firewood farms plant cheap trees that grow fast. When these are used for firewood, forest trees are preserved. http: //farm 5. staticflickr. com/4127/4997788178_910 f 6334 a 6_z. jpg

3. Logging Legal and illegal logging destroys large areas of Congo rainforest. http: //news. mongabay. com/2005/1205 -congo. html Most of the wood is sold in Europe. http: //earthhopenetwork. net/Illegal_Loggers_Mutilating_Congolese_Forests. htm

http: //www. forestsmonitor. org/fr/capacity_building_congo What helps? • Enforce logging laws. (Stop illegal logging. ) • Get international buyers to buy only “certified” wood. Authorities check to make sure the logging company is only cutting trees old enough to be legally cut. http: //www. prlog. org/10505431 -fsc-and-rainforest-alliance-certified-logos. jpg

Deforestation slowing – some. http: //www. cleanbiz. asia/sites/default/files/Annual_change_in_rainforest_area_1990 -2010_on_background. jpg

There’s one major “issue” I haven’t mentioned that makes things difficult in the Dem. Republic of the Congo. Listen for that issue in this 9 minute video. (And why do you suppose I didn’t mention it? ) Jiko Stoves. mp 4 (9: 15)