Why Rainforests?
Rainforests – as they die, so does the future! |
“... the world’s forests need to be seen for what they are – giant global utilities, providing essential services to humanity on a vast scale...The life they support cleans the atmosphere of pollutants and feeds it with moisture. They help regulate our climate and sustain the lives of some of the poorest people on this Earth. And they do these things to a degree that is all but impossible to imagine. Amazonia’s forests help to store the largest body of flowing freshwater on the planet. The trees release 20 billion tonnes of it into the atmosphere every day. Rain from the forests of the Congo waters half of Africa ....” — Prince Charles at the European Parliament in Brussels. |
Global deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of the world's CO2 emissions. Regeneration of the rainforest could sequestrate an additional 7-10% of the CO2 emissions released globally. This is the quickest and most viable asset available to humankind in the battle against climate change. |