1. Rainforests are a powerful natural climate solution.

The Baixo Rio Negro region of the Brazilian Amazon.

Photo credit: CIFOR/Neil Palmer

Not only do they regulate global temperatures, they also cool and
regulate local micro-climates and limit the Earth’s reflectivity—which in
turn stabilizes ocean currents, wind, and rainfall patterns. In a 2017
analysis published in the scientific journal PNAS, climate scientists
concluded that natural climate solutions, including forest
conservation/restoration and sustainable agriculture, could provide more
than one-third of the global climate mitigation necessary to stabilize
warming to below 2 °C.

2. Tropical forests have become a net carbon emitters.

Sunset in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Photo credit: Dan Stone

In a distressing development, a 2017 study published in the

journal Science reveals that tropical forests that once served as the
Earth’s carbon sinks now emit more carbon than they absorb, because
of deforestation and forest loss caused by humans. However, we cannot
afford to give up on tropical forests. Restoring them and their ability to
sequester carbon is one of several critical steps we must take to address
our global climate crisis.

3. Tropical rainforests cover less than 3% of Earth's

area, yet they are home to more than half our planet's
terrestrial animal species.
Orangutans are fighting for their very survival in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra.
Photo credit: Paul Hillman

Bengal tigers, mountain gorillas, orangutans, jaguars, and blue poison

dart frogs are just a few of the magnificent animals found in rainforests.
Sadly, many of these species are on the brink of extinction, and their
continued existence is crucial to maintaining the balance of marvelously
efficient—but delicate—rainforest ecosystems.

4. Rainforests play an essential role in maintaining the

Earth’s limited supply of fresh water.
Rio Celeste, Costa Rica.
Photo credit: Jessica Webb

Rainforests add water to the atmosphere through the process of

transpiration, by which plants release water from their leaves during
photosynthesis. Deforestation reduces the moisture released into the
atmosphere, causing rainfall to decrease. This is why the loss of forests
often leads to drought. Forests are also natural water filters, keeping
pollution and debris from flowing into water supplies and slowing the
movement of rainwater so it flows into underground reserves. Scientists
estimate that about 15% of the world’s freshwater flows from the
Amazon Basin alone.

5. Rainforest plants are used in some of the world's

most important, life-saving medicines.
Bromeliad in Boquete, Panama.

More than 60% of anticancer drugs originate from natural sources,

including rainforest plants, according to research published in
the International Journal of Oncology. Because rainforests are so rich in
biodiversity, they hold enormous potential for future discoveries.
Compounds in rainforest plants are already used to treat malaria, heart
disease, bronchitis, hypertension, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension,
arthritis, glaucoma, dysentery, and tuberculosis, among other health
problems. And many commercially available anesthetics, enzymes,
hormones, laxatives, cough mixtures, antibiotics, and antiseptics are
also derived from rainforest plants and herbs.