Rainforest destruction is now recognized as one of the greatest environmental tragedies of all time. By why are the rainforests disappearing so quickly ?

• In 1800, there were 2.9 billion hectares of tropical forest worldwide. There are 1.5 billion hectares of tropical forest remaining.
• Almost 65% of Central America has been cleared to create pastureland for grazing
  cattle
• Rainforest land cleared for pasture or farming degrades quickly and is usually abandoned.
• At least 42 million acres of tropical forest are lost each year, approximately 100 acres/minute.
• Between 1960-1990, 445 million hectares of tropical forest were cleared.
• We lose 50 species every day – 2 species per hour – due to tropical deforestation.

Resources

• http://www.rainforestlive.org.uk/
• The Virtual Rainforest http://www.msu.edu/~urquhar5/tour/
• Causes of Rainforest Destruction http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/background/causes.htm
• http://www.geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/topics/rainforest.html
• Causes of Destruction http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_006.htm

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