Facts
- Tropical rainforests once covered 14% of the earth’s surface, now they cover only 6%.
- A 25 acre plot of Borneo rainforest may contain more than 700 species of trees – equal to the total tree diversity in North America.
- 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every single day due to rainforest deforestation.
- 50,000 species disappear each year
Social
- Medicine – 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients.
- Indigenous Tribes – Five centuries ago there were 10 million Amazonian rainforest indians, now there are only 250,000.
Environmental
- Biodiversity – in total, rainforests contain 50% of the worlds biodiversity, 15 million species.
- Photosynthesis – rainforests are estimated to produce around 20% of the worlds oxygen
Economic
- Cattle ranching – in Brazil there are over 220 million cattle and 20 million goats reared on rainforest.
- Logging – one company responsible for 500,000 acres deforested. Often these companies do not make a profit, but are instead subsidized by the government.
- Brazil spends 40% of its annual income servicing its loans.
IB Geography Turtle 