Rainforest Conservation

Points covered:

• Why are rainforests important?
• How much of the Earth is covered by rainforests?
• Why are rainforests being destroyed?
• Why are Australia's rainforests important?
• What is happening to Australia's rainforests?

Words to know:

• CARBON DIOXIDE - a gas in the atmosphere which contributes to global warming.
• GONDWANA - the ancient southern supercontinent that included Australia, New Guinea, South America, Africa, India and Antarctica.

Rainforests are very important places because they directly benefit the health of our planet. They act as giant lungs for the Earth by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide and producing oxygen in exchange. Rainforests also provide us with many foods, raw materials and medicines.

Despite their importance, rainforests only cover 6% of the Earth's surface. But this 6% is home to 50% of all the animal and plant species on Earth. Such a rich diversity of species is rare and is the main reason for rainforest importance.

Every year about 20 million hectares of rainforest are destroyed worldwide. They are logged for timber and cleared to plant crops and graze cattle. Most of the world's remaining rainforests are in developing nations and the financial return on timber and farming is crucial for survival of people in those nations and takes precedence over rainforest conservation. As a result, destruction continues at an alarming rate.

Over three-quarters of Australia's rainforests have been destroyed since European colonisation. Only a series of fragmented pockets across northern Australia and down the east coast to Tasmania are left. While some of these areas are threatened by burning, agriculture, weed invasion, mining, logging, road building and real estate development, many of them are protected in state forests, national parks or World Heritage reserves.

Australia's rainforests have attracted international and scientific interest because they are home to an unusually high number of animals and plants that are found nowhere else in the world. Furthermore, they contain surviving Gondwanan vegetation, providing us with clues to the origins and evolution of much of the plant life we see in the world today. In addition to this, Australia's comparative wealth means that we are expected to have high conservation standards.

Since Australia is one of the few places in the developed world where rainforests are available for public enjoyment, global conservation and research, we have a special responsibility to take care of our rainforests and their biodiversity.

Katy Crass
Australian Museum