Tropical Rainforests

The “green lungs” of the planet, they absorb 20% of the world's carbon emissions. Tropical forests cover 2% of the earth's surface but are home to more than half of all species. Deforestation is responsible for 20% of all global warming emissions. Six-million square miles of tropical rainforest once existed worldwide. Less than half remains. At current rates of tropical forest destruction, every year an area nearly the size of the United Kingdom is lost.

- Conservation International & The Nature Conservancy

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Buy sustainably harvested or reclaimed wood and recycled or FSC-certified paper products to reduce tropical deforestation.

• Choose products (especially beef, soy, palm oil, and chocolate) from companies that avoid rainforest destruction.

• Support efforts to protect Indigenous land rights, which are critical for preserving tropical rainforests.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Rainforest Alliance

• Rainforest Action Network (RAN)

• Amazon Conservation Association

• Rainforest Trust