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The Rainforests Provide Many Resources to Humans Through Their Large Biodiversity, Most Importantly Medicinal Products
"The land and biodiversity are a loan that has been given to us by future generations. It doesnŐt belong to us, we are just passing through"-Luis Antonio Ortega Miticanoy, an activist with indigenous groups in Columbia, at the 1992 Earth Summit
(www.idrc.ca/books/reports/1996/30-01e.html)
The rainforest is a wealth of knowledge that researchers haven't even begun to uncover. The large biodiversity that the rainforests hold in plants and animals is very useful to humans. These forests are useful to our environment, provide food and other resources, and are the source of many pharmaceuticals that are derived from medicinal plants. Most of the pharmaceuticals that we use today have some connection with plants, especially plants from the rainforests. Cancer and AIDS research has had the most success in the development towards a cure from studying the medicinal plants of the rainforests. All the rainforests of the world have such a high value to existence of humans that it is crazy for people to try and actually give them a value.
The rainforests of the world are being destroyed at unbelievable rates for the timber and the creation of land for agriculture. These are the immediate benefits that short sighted governments, logging companies, and land owners are drawn to, but with more education about the importance of the rainforests people are trying to do more and more to protect them. Some mind boggling facts about rainforest destruction and biodiversity:
á Rainforests once covered 14% of the Earth's surface, now they cover 6%
á Over 150 acres of rainforests are lost every minute, 78 million acres lost every year
á Experts estimate that the rainforests will be consumed within 40 years at the current rate of destruction
á It is estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal, and insect species every day due to rainforest deforestation, that is 50,000 species a year
á More than 20% of the world's oxygen is produced by rainforests
á Experts estimate that more than one half of the world's species live in the tropical rainforests
á Over 50% of all the plant species on Earth come from the rainforests
á A single pond in the rainforest can sustain a greater variety of fish than what is found in all of Europe's rivers
á One hectare of rainforests may contain over 750 types of trees and 1500 species of higher plants, that equals the plant diversity in all of North America
á A single rainforest reserve may be home to more species of birds than the entire U.S.
á A single tree in the rainforest has been know to harbor 43 different species of ants, that is more than the entire ant species in the British Isles
á At least 80% of the developed world's diets originated in the tropical rainforests
á There are at least 3,000 fruits found in the rainforest, the developed world uses about 200, and the natives of the rainforest use over 2,000
(www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm)
These are only a few facts about the destruction of the rainforests and the importance that they hold for humans. Experts are in agreement that if the rainforests are left intact and harvested for nuts, fruits, oil-producing plants and medicinal plants that they would hold a higher economic value than if they are cut down for agriculture or timber. It is estimated that land converted to cattle grazing can yield about $60 per acre, if timber is harvested the land yields about $400 per acre and if the renewable and sustainable resources are harvested then the land could yield about $2,400 per acre. If these sustainable and renewable resources of the rainforest are promoted the destruction of the rainforests could be stopped. There must be a sufficient demand for the sustainable and ecologically harvested Rainforest products for these preservation efforts of the rainforest to succeed. As of now most of the benefits of the rainforest products being harvested are only providing financial benefits for international organizations. The indigenous people of the rainforest must also get financial recognition for their knowledge and innovation, which is usually the key to the development of rainforest products.
Medicinal plants are one of the many important products that come from the rainforests. They also have the most potential for new product development once scientists have the time to do the necessary research. The rainforests hold so much potential for the development of new pharmaceuticals that may all be lost if deforestation continues at the current rate. Today many of our pharmaceuticals originated in tropical plants, but the research that has actually been done on the large number of plants is minimal. Even though the developed world has over 25% of their pharmaceuticals derived from rainforest ingredients, it is estimated that less than 1% of the tropical trees and plants have been tested for their medicinal purposes by scientists. The majority of cancer-fighting drug ingredients come from species that are only found in the rainforests and the research for these drugs is relatively new, this area of research appears to have a lot of potential for the future. The pharmaceuticals that are used in the developed world come from only about 95 of the 250,000 known plant species in the world. There are many plants that have yet to be researched for medicinal purposes and there is an unknown amount of plant species in the rainforests that are waiting to be discovered. Scientists give a conservative estimate of at least 300 useful drugs are still undiscovered in the rainforests of South America alone.
One of the most important factors in the research of plants in the rainforests is using the knowledge of the native shamen. The enthnobotanist, Mark Plotkin, wrote in his book Tales of the ShamanŐs Apprentice that every time a shaman dies, it as if a giant library of knowledge has just been burnt down. As the rainforests are destroyed so are the indigenous people that hold the irreplaceable secrets to the forests. In the 1900Ős colonists in Brazil alone have destroyed more than 90 indigenous groups and with them centuries of accumulated knowledge on the medicinal values of rainforest species has also been lost. At one time there was estimated to be over ten million natives living in the rainforests of South America and now there are less than 200,000. We can now only have hope that there is a chance we may be able to rediscover some of the precious rainforest knowledge that has been lost.
There are many drugs that we use on a regular basis that are derived from the rainforest, some are even saving lives daily. A tropical periwinkle plant, now extinct, is the origin of two drugs used in the fight against child leukemia. These drugs have changed the death rate of children with leukemia from 8 out of 10 to 2 out of 10. Imagine if this plant wouldnŐt have been discovered before it was extinct, it is sad to think what has already been lost. Quinine is a chemical extracted from the bark of a tropical tree and is used to treat malaria. The same tree also produces another chemical called quidine, which is used to treat heart conditions. These two chemicals are now synthetically produced but they originate in the rainforests. Research on plants is very active for a cure for AIDS. There have been 40,000 plant samples taken for AIDS research and so far five chemicals have been discovered to show activity against AIDS.
The plants of the rainforest contain an endless amount of knowledge just waiting to be discovered. Without the plants that have been tested our world would be much different, just imagine the potential for the future. If the deforestation of these precious forests can be stopped, so that scientists have a chance to do adequate research there is the possibility that every ailment, disease, and virus may have a cure. These forests must be protected, not only for medicinal purposes, but also for the environment and sustainable living on Earth. People must start thinking about the future and generations to come, not just here, now and themselves.
ŇThe worst thing that can happen during the 1980Ős is not energy depletion, economic collapse, limited nuclear war, or conquest by a totalitarian government. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations. The one process ongoing in the 1980Ős that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly that our descendants are least likely to forgive us for.Ó
-Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize Winning Biologist
Bibliography
Ankli, Anita, Barbara Frei, Michael Heinrich, Otto Sticher, and Claudia Weiman. Medicinal Plants in Mexico: HealersŐ Consensus and Cultural Importance. Soc. Sci. Med. Vol47. No. 11. 1859-1871. 1998
library.thinkquest.org/17456/food3.html
ens.lycos.com/ens/aug2000/2000L-08-04-06.html
www.idrc.ca/books/reports/1996/30-01e.html
www.montana.com/manu/why.html
www.rain-tree.com/plantdrugs.htm
www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm
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