AGENDA

1. Rainforest

1.1. We should support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment

1.2. We should teach other people about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.

1.3. We should restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.

2. Rainforests are

2.1. Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with annual rainfall between 250 and 450 centimetres. There are two types of rainforest: tropical rainforest and temperate rainforest.

2.2. Tropical rainforests are characterized by a warm and wet climate with no substantial dry season: typically found within 10 degrees north and south of the equator. Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year.

3. Why people destroy rainforests

3.1. Many rainforests in Central and South America have been burnt down to make way for cattle farming, which supplies cheap beef to North America, China and Russia. It is estimated that for each pound of beef produced, 200 square feet of rainforest is destroyed. In the past 20 years Costa Rica has lost the majority of its forests to beef cattle ranching. This is known as slash and burn farming and is believed to account for 50% of rainforest destruction.

3.2. In the past 50 years much of the rainforest in Africa and Asia has been destroyed. Large areas of rainforest are being cut down, often in order to remove just a few logs, and rainforest is being destroyed at double the rate of all previous estimates. Unfortunately this means that there is a very high rate of extinction, as the wildlife depending on the forest dies with it.