Importance

of Saving
Rainforests By
Salma Mohammad Ikbarieh
200810407

FAS 101: Communication Skills (English)

Ms. Hiba Moumne
14 December 2009
 Importance of Saving Rainforests

Did you read the essay's title? If you did before or after I asked you I'm sure

that now you are expecting a boring essay. Maybe because we are living in the Middle

East where there is no rainforest, and you think that you are not related to in a way or

another. However you are going to change your mind after reading this essay. I'm

going to show you that it is very important to save the rainforests because that will

mean maintaining the biodiversity, affecting positively on the air and global climate,

and preserving the rainforests as a source of many useful products.

Have you ever heard about the biodiversity? The biodiversity is "the variety of

plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat,"("Biodiversity"). Since

rainforests are the world’s most biological diverse ecosystem, saving them will mean

maintaining the biodiversity which is important for two things. First it is important for

saving the dietary diversity starting from the fruits and vegetables and ending by the

fishes and the other species, which live in rainforest's fresh water. According to Rain-

tree.com no less than 80% of the developed world's diet including fruits, vegetables,

spices, and nuts is originated in the tropical rainforest. Furthermore, Leslie Taylor, in

her book The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs, said that the number of species of

fish in the Amazon exceeds the number found in the entire Atlantic Ocean. Second

the biodiversity is important for saving the human well-being which is "a human

experience that includes the basic materials for a good life, freedom of choice and

action, health, good social relationships, a sense of cultural identity, and a sense of

security" (Díaz et al. 1301). Then it is so clear that the biodiversity serves the basic

needs of the mankind, so that the deforesting of rainforests is threatening not only the

biodiversity but also the human's health, and security. Moreover biodiversity loss will
affect in the human freedom of choice and action negatively, as a result it’s defiantly

going to end by wars worldwide where the survival for the strongest.

In addition to maintaining the biodiversity, saving the rainforests is important

for its positive affects on the air and global climate. The rainforests trees and plants in

their vast number, and their various types are affecting effectively in recycling the

carbon dioxide, in the air, during the photosynthesis. Therefore, the rainforests

became responsible about producing a vast percentage from the oxygen that we

breathe. For example, The Amazon Rainforest has been described as the "Lungs of

our Planet" for the reason that it provides the necessary ecological service of

permanently recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen and it’s expected that over 20% of

Earth's oxygen is produced in it (Taylor). Another positive effect of saving rainforests

is slowing down the climate change. According to Whitmore, “20–25% of the

greenhouse effect is attributable to deforestation,” in order that saving the rainforests

will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. Consequently that will slow down the

global warming.

Finally, saving the rainforests will preserve it as a source for many useful

products. First of all rainforests are source of many medical herbs and other living

species that are used in producing some medicines. In fact rainforests are gifted

pharmacy to the humankind; many prescription drugs sold worldwide come from

plant, animals and microorganisms found on the rainforests. Think if we saved the

rainforests how many diseases could be cured! How many people could have a chance

to survive after they thought that they are going to die in cancer! Most of people think

that there is no hope to cure cancer and other lethal diseases, however, "Experts now

believe that if there is a cure for cancer and even AIDS, it will probably be found in

the rainforest" (Taylor). Second rainforest are a source of timber, which produced into
many useful products. Since the mankind knew the fire, the rainforests timbers have

been used as a fuel for the fireplaces in the cold winter. Moreover most of the modern

furniture is made of the rainforests timbers because of its flexionless. Well, what

about these papers between your hands? It's a rainforests timber product. In fact

rainforests timber is the raw material of the paper industry worldwide. Nevertheless,

using rainforests timbers as a source of useful products need awareness and

conciseness or it is going to lead us to deforesting.

In conclusion, we can see that the importance of saving the rainforest comes

from its importance in protecting the biodiversity, affecting positively on air and

global climate, and keeping it as a foundation for many functional products .Now it’s

clear that saving the rainforest means saving our earth, life, and future. Then it's time

to act, so would you now add you voice to mine and say: "Stop deforesting and save

the rainforests."
 Works Cited

"Biodiversity."The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English. 3rd ed.

2008. Web.

Díaz, Sandra et al. "Biodiversity Loss Threatens HumanWell-Being." PLoS Biology

4.8 (2006): 1301. Web. 12 Dec 2009.

“Rainforest Facts.” rain-tree.com. Raintree Nutrition, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2009.

Taylor, Leslie. The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs. Garden City: Square One
Publishers, 2004. Web. 4 Dec. 2009.

Whitmore, T. C. “Rainforest.” Access Science n.d: n.pag. McGraw-Hill. Web.

4 Dec. 2009.