The Disappearing Rainforests

The Disappearing Rainforests

Conserving the rainforest is a global issue of great importance.

Tropical rainforests provide a habitat for animals, a unique ecosystem

for vegetation, and an abundance of resources for humans, yet they are

being destroyed at an astonishing rate. Experts estimate that if these

endangered territories continue to be consumed in this manner, no more

will be standing in forty years (Rainforest). Examining the social,

environmental, and economic costs of the continued destruction of the

Earth's tropical rainforests will prove that deforestation for

short-term profit is ultimately not viable.

The social and moral implications of diminishing rainforest

biodiversity are great. From a human welfare perspective, the

livelihoods of tens of millions of indigenous peoples depend on the

forests, but thousands are being pushed out of their homes because

they lack the shelter and support that the forest once gave them

(Salim 3). These groups have "developed knowledge and cultures in

accordance with their environment through thousands of years, and even

physically they are adapted to the life in the forest" (Nyborg). For

many of the people living in these areas, the forest is the only

resource they have providing them with food, shelter and cultural

ties. With the invasion and destruction of their homeland, rainforest

peoples are also disappearing. Murdered or forced to move to

relocation settlements, many are exposed to new diseases to which they

have no natural resistance such as tuberculosis, influenza,

parainfluenza, measles, mumps, rubella, poliomyelitis, and the common

cold. Survivors are often introduced to ...

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