acres of rainforest. It was then being cut down at the rate of about 10 to 15 million acres per year. Today we have less than 1.5 billion acres left, and we are clearing this remaining rainforest at the rate of 30 to 50 million acres per year, two to three times as rapidly as just a few decades ago.
If the present rate of tropical deforestation continues, there will be nearly no tropical rainforests left in just 30 years. Instead of holding steady however, the rate of deforestation is actually predicted to increase even further .
Scientists project that the rate of tropical deforestation will continue to increase for the next 10 to 15 years until there simply will not be enough forest left to sustain the rate of cutting.
The chart (see appendix # 1) dramatically illustrates the fate of the world's rainforests.
As the world's population increases, and therefore the competition for land, food and resources also increase, it appears that the world's rainforests will continue to fall at an increasingly accelerating rate. The newest data dramatically confirms that:
В· tropical deforestation is a very serious and growing problem. Scientists may disagree on the details, but they all agree that the implications for mankind are huge - in terms of possible global warming, increasing desertification (the world's deserts are now growing 27,000 square miles per year), and loss of biodiversity, to name a few
В· we must do everything reasonable we can to protect the world's remaining rainforests
В· one important way to help is to plant tropical hardwood trees for harvests, to produce tropical hardwoods that aren't taken from the natural rainforest
В· as individuals, we may at times feel insignificant, but by working together, we can indeed make a difference
В· and by being an example for others, we can multiply the result
The latest statistics also dramatically underscore the benefits of planting tropical hardwood plantations:
В· as the world's population continues to increase in numbers and prosperity, the demand for beautiful tropical hardwoods will continue to grow rapidly
В· as country after country in the tropics depletes its own supply of tropical forest and passes from being an exporter of tropical hardwoods to having to import wood to fulfill its domestic needs, international demand for tropical hardwoods will continue to grow dramatically
В· as the world loses more and more rainforest, there will be a rising imperative to protect the small amount of rainforest remaining
В· as international demand for tropical hardwoods increases and the availability of the natural rainforests as a source of supply of these hardwoods decreases, both because of continued harvesting and because the dwindling remaining forests will be increasingly protected, the prices of all tropical hardwoods will like...
