Found on every continent except Antarctica, rainforests are ecosystems filled with mostly evergreen trees that typically receive high amounts of rainfall. Tropical rainforests are found near the equator, with high average temperatures and humidity; while temperate rainforests lie mostly in coastal, mountainous areas within the mid-latitudes.
Rainforests are vital for the survival of life on Earth. Not only do they provide air, water, medicine, food and shelter to a multitude of living beings, they are also one of our best natural defences against climate change, because of their capacity to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. They are home to half the world’s plant and animal species.
Yet, every minute, we lose 40 football fields of rainforests, which threatens our biodiversity and imperils our planet’s health. Deforestation causes 15% of global carbon dioxide emissions that accelerate climate change — more than from all cars in the USA and China combined. Natural climate solutions like protecting and restoring forests, however, could reverse global emissions by a third.
The first World Rainforest Day was launched on June 22nd, 2017 by Rainforest Partnership, as a collaborative effort to raise awareness and encourage action to protect the world’s rainforests. World Rainforest Day celebrates this precious natural resource, and encourages action to preserve it. Your efforts, together with the actions of others, would have a positive impact on rainforests and the climate worldwide.
World Rainforest Day is an opportunity to celebrate this precious natural resource each year, and take action to preserve it.
Green land of Guyana
At over 87% forest cover, Guyana is one of the most heavily forested countries in South America. As part of the Guiana Shield, its forests play a key role in regulating rainfall across the entire
Amazon Basin. Its rainforests store over 5.41 gigatons (Gts) of carbon dioxide, making them a critical conservation area to mitigate global climate change.
Guyana’s forests are highly diverse: the country has some 1,263 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and 6,409 species of plants. According to an assessment by the ITTO, forests in Guyana can be broken down as follows: rainforest (36%), montane forest (35%), swamp and marsh (15%), dry evergreen (7%), seasonal forest (6%), and mangrove forest (1%).
What can you do to help protect rainforests?
Learn more about the rainforest
Eat less meat – From 2000 to 2005, beef production accounted for 65 to 70 percent of all deforestation in the Amazon, and that number is estimated to be even higher today.
Additionally, more rainforest is being converted to soybean plantations, much of which goes to feed the growing cattle population. Brazil alone has approximately 24 to 25 million hectares devoted to soy production. These processes emit a significant amount of CO2 with the once forested region losing its capacity to act as a carbon sink. Even worse, cattle release large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.
Shop for sustainably sourced forest products. Palm oil is an extremely versatile product used in a variety of everyday cosmetics, cleaning products, and food items, yet its production is the leading cause of deforestation in tropical Southeast Asia. Be on the lookout for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo when purchasing forest products. FSC’s “tick tree” logo is used to indicate that products are certified under the FSC system. When you see the FSC logo on a label, you can buy forest products with confidence that you are helping to ensure our forests are alive for generations to come.
Ensure that your forestry operation has an Environmental Authorisation
For more information, photos, and videos of rainforests, visit https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/rain-forests and https://www.facebook.com/worldrainforestday/
Sources
https://www.worldrainforestday.org/history-of-wrd
https://rainforestfoundation.org/our-work/geographies/guyana/
https://rainforests.mongabay.com/20guyana.htm
https://www.treexploration.com/blog/7-facts-about-guyana-jungle
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