Loss of tropical rainforest areas is especially disturbing for many reasons. These forests are logged for the sale of tropical hardwoods to the richer countries like the US and Japan, or the land is simply burned to clear the way for agriculture - most often cattle ranching. The rate of destruction is truly incredible - about 100 acres every minute, for an equivalent area the size of Kansas destroyed each year.
Since trees in tropical rainforests have plenty of heat and moisture, they grow fast and normally store large quantities of CO2. As forests are being cut and burned, the fires generate large quantities of CO2, perhaps 15 percent of the world's total annual release of CO2.
Many species of plants and animals - between 5 and 10 million live in the rainforests - about half of all the earth's life forms. Most face extinction, once this unique habitat is destroyed. It is now estimated that at current destruction rates, the forests will be gone before the year 2050 - in less than 60 years!
North Americans need to be concerned about the rainforest situation, but before we point accusing fingers at the governments of Brazil and Malaysia, we need to recognize that both the US and Canada are a big part of the problem. We are not setting good forest management examples in our own country. Since the formation of our country in the 1700's, US citizens and companies have cut down all but 4% of our nation's virgin, old growth forests. Since only part of the 4% is protected by wilderness and park status, large forest areas, including the biologically rich rainforests in the Pacific northwest, are still threatened. These old growth conifer forests store more carbon per unit area than any other vegetation system in the US and Canada. See the 'Save our Ancient Forests' and 'Reforming the US Forest Service' sections for more information.
US banking companies and the World Bank are directly responsible for much of the burning and cutting of tropical rainforests. The less developed countries under heavy debt loads to US, Japan, and European banks -coordinated through the World Bank - are forced to try to clear many forest areas in an attempt to pay interest and principal on foreign loans. You can help stop this trend by writing:
Mr. Barber J. Conable, Jr.
President
WORLD BANK
1818 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20433
Tell Mr. Conable that the world bank must stop financing dams, roads, and other destructive 'development projects' in the sensitive rainforest areas. Ask him to develop 'debt for nature' swaps with these countries, so that the rainforested country will set aside large preserves of rainforest in exchange for having a large portion of their foreign debt forgiven by the World Bank and other bankers. ***
