The Vanishing Forest GS1 Assessment

Tropical rainforests, also known as

lowland equatorial evergreen

rainforests, are those that grow in

regions with a tropical rainforest

climate, which means there is never a

dry season, and all months have an

Location of the Tropical Rainforests around the World

average precipitation of at least 60 mm. A subset of the tropical forest biome that often occurs within the

28-degree latitudes, true rainforests are typically found between 10 degrees north and south of the equator

(see map) (in the equatorial zone between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn). Tropical

rainforests are a form of tropical moist broadleaf forest (also known as tropical wet forest) within the

World Wildlife Fund's taxonomy of biomes, which also includes the vaster seasonal tropical forests.

Two words best describe tropical rainforests: hot and wet. Because of the leaching of the soluble nutrients

from the soil, this high quantity of precipitation frequently causes poor soils.

High amounts of biodiversity can be found in tropical rainforests. For 40% to 75% of all biotic species, the

rainforests are home. Half of all plant and animal species on the world live in rainforests. Rainforests are

home to two-thirds of all flowering plants. A rainforest's one hectare may support up to 807 trees of 313

varieties, 42,000 different insect species, and 1,500 distinct species of higher plants. Tropical rainforests

have been dubbed the "world's largest pharmacy" because they contain about 25% of all known natural

medications. There are probably millions more plant, insect, and microbial species in tropical rainforests

that have yet to be identified.

Knowing what a tropical rainforest is and how rich it

is, you may be surprised to learn that, according to

NASA, in 2000, half of the world's rainforest had

been destroyed. The rainforests will be extinct by the

end of the century if we keep up the current rate of

devastation. The rainforest is home to up to 75% of

Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest
all life on Earth. If the rainforest vanished, most of these millions of species—many of which humans have

yet to discover—would be exterminated.

One of the most common

problems that you can see of the

tropical rainforest is logging,

logging is one of the main

factors that destroys tropical

rainforests. People in countries Logging Representation

like the United States and Europe are directly contributing to the devastation of rainforests by purchasing

specific wood products. While there are ways to log that cause less harm to the ecosystem, most logging in

the rainforest is quite damaging.

According to research, there are far fewer species in logged rainforest than there are in pristine or

"primary" rainforest. Numerous species that live in rainforests cannot thrive in the new habitat. For

building materials and firewood, locals frequently collect wood from rainforests. Today, however, the

sheer volume of individuals harvesting wood from a rainforest can be quite harmful in areas with a high

human population. For instance, the woodlands around the refugee camps in Central Africa (Rwanda and

Congo) were almost entirely depleted of trees in certain places during the 1990s.

Farming is also an act that can cause damage to the forest if practised wrong, like agriculture and cattle

ranching.

The agricultural use of some

rainforest land proves to be a

failure because of the

nutrient-deficient, acidic

soils of these forests. On

rainforest areas, however,

there are still a lot of

commercial agricultural

initiatives going on, even

Destruction of the Tropical Rainforest for Cattle Ranching
though many of them end up becoming bovine pasture when the soils run out. Because individuals of a
particular species are widely dispersed in the natural rainforest, widespread infestations are uncommon

there. Additionally, a single cold spell or drought can devastate a substantial segment of the agricultural

economy.

Since the 1960s, land speculators and cattle ranchers have been responsible for most of the deforestation in

the Amazon Basin by burning vast swaths of rainforest for pasture. However, Brazil is not the only country

where large areas of rainforest have been turned into cattle pastures. In the 1970s and early 1980s, large

areas of rainforest in Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador were also burned and turned into cattle

pasture lands to satisfy American demand for meat. Because a major percentage of it was situated on the

rare fertile rainforest soils, the cattle pasture area set aside in Central America throughout the 1970s and

1980s was a particularly bad decision (volcanic and floodplain soils). In Latin America, large areas of

rainforest are cut down and used as pasture ground for cattle. Land clearing is an excellent hedge against

inflation when real pastureland prices are higher than real forest land prices, which has occasionally been

rife in many developing countries in the 1980s

and 1990s (2,500 percent in Brazil in 1993,

13,340 percent in Venezuela from 1993-

1998). Additionally, at times of high inflation,

the appreciation of cattle prices and the stream

of services (milk) they provide may outpace

the interest rate earned on money left in the

bank.

And finally, another act that cause the destruction of the tropical rainforest is mining and drilling, the

world's

tropical rainforests are key sources of gold, copper, diamonds, and other precious metals and gemstones.
Destruction of the Tropical Rainforest for Mining

The process of extracting these natural resources is frequently damaging, harming the ecosystem of the

rainforest and posing issues for locals who live close to and downstream of mining activities. Alluvial gold

resources are the main focus of mining nowadays in the Amazon rainforest. Large-scale mining operations,

particularly those that employ open-pit mining methods, can cause significant deforestation through forest

destruction and the building of roads that make isolated forest areas accessible to roving settlers, land
speculators, and small-scale miners. The ecosystem of the tropical rainforest is arguably more under risk

from these settlers and miners than from corporate mining activities.

Now that you know the main causes of the deforestation of the tropical rainforest, those acts have an

impact on the world, animals are forced to move because of forest devastation. It is believed that SARS-

CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19, moved from animals to people.

A 2021 study from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests modifying agriculture practises and

protecting our woods as a solution to this problem.

Native people either cultivate crops in fertile soil or directly harvest plant species found in forests for food

and medicine. As a result of deforestation, which primarily serves to make land available for traditional

agriculture, these people are deprived of the resources necessary to plant food for survival, which causes

food insecurity.

In order to feed the expanding urban

populations, conventional agricultural

producers transform forests into land

that may be used for livestock grazing or

the cultivation of palm oil and soy.

According to climate experts, in the next

20 years, greenhouse gas emissions must

be cut in half, or the negative

consequences of forestry industry activities must be lessened in order to address the issue of climate

change.

Around 50% of all life on land inhabits rainforests. According to data from the United Nations Food and

Agriculture Organization (FAO) around 80% of all amphibious species, 75% of birds, and almost 70% of
Destruction of the Animals Habitats Representation

mammals live in rainforests. Deforestation has also been linked to the extinction of monarch butterflies

that pollinate numerous wildflowers as well as serve as a vital food source for tiny animals.

To stop that terrible problem, here are ways that we can conserve the tropical rainforest in a sustainable

way.
Firstly, sustainability can be defined as the capacity to constantly support or maintain a process across

time. This has primarily been accomplished through the adoption of sustainable business practises and

increased investments in green technology.

Incredibly, we can extract the resources of the tropical rainforests sustainably, using the methods below,

that can stop the extinct of this on the next century

1. Program for debt reduction - Many

LICs are home to exotic rainforests.

Since many LICs are deeply indebted,

they frequently turn to natural

resources like the rainforest for

revenue to pay off debt. However,

there have been occasions where

wealthier nations have consented to the debt cancellation in exchange for the preservation of the rainforest.

Brazil will conserve its Atlantic coastal rainforest, as well as the Cerrado and Caatinga habitats, with the

money instead of repaying the debt.

2. It seeks to safeguard the rainforest through educating people. A portion of the money made goes toward

rainforest preservation. As a result, the rainforest can continue to provide benefits to people without being

permanently harmed.

3. Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests

and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after

clearcutting.

4. It stops soil erosion and provides crops with nutrients from decomposing organic materials.
Reforestation of the Tropical Rainforest Representation
Now that you learn how important is the tropical rainforest, please as Brazilians and global citizens, we

should be concerned about the tropical rainforest since, as I previously stated, it is practically extinct and is

expected to disappear by the end of the century. The tropical rainforest is home to 75% of all life, it stops

global warming by absorbing CO2, an important gas that increases global warming, it protects the soil

from flood, drought, and erosion, making it rich, it is home to most medicines made in the world, and so

on. If we, as humans, extinct this rich place, we will not only harm animals' lives, but our lives as well, we

are responsible for making the difference, please, save the tropical rainforests!
Essay Written By: Victor Leonardo Rodrigues Medeiros

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