Why Protect Rainforests?
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 2.2.9
What is the Value of Rainforests?
Rainforests are important to both humans and the environment.
Source of useful products and antifragility
- Avocado, cashew nuts, citrus, chocolate, rubber and ingredients that are only really used in medicines are often grown in rainforest climates.
- Over 7,000 drugs have been created from tropical forest plant species.
- Having more products and more biodiversity makes the world less fragile. Nassim Taleb calls it antifragile when something is resistant to changes over time. Preserving biodiversity makes humankind more antifragile. If we kill off lots of plant and animal species, we may not be able to use them for something really useful in the future.
Long-term economic benefits of rainforests
- Although iron ore mining and timber logging are economically profitable, as incomes rise, tourism becomes more popular. Eco-tourism, like the hotel Hix Island House in Puerto Rico could become a major source of income in the future for countries and local people.
Photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the air
- Having more trees on Earth means that they extract more carbon dioxide from the air, offsetting humans' carbon emissions.
- Photosynthesis by trees in the Amazon absorbs 5% of the world's carbon emissions each year (2bn tons of CO2).
The water cycle and climate
- Rainforests have an impact on the water cycle and local climates.
- A smaller area of rainforest would increase the likelihood of serious droughts and floods.
Moral perspective
- We should try not to harm other animals' habitats or other living things unless it is absolutely necessary.
Test yourself on Why Protect Rainforests?
Which of the following is not sourced from the rainforest?
Why should we protect rainforests?
How will protecting rainforests help reduce the greenhouse effect?
Which of these hotels is an example of ecotourism?