Are we talking about this usual topic again? Yes. Before we even forgot it, it is indeed important to remind ourselves of the so many benefits that rainforests give us.
Natural rainforests sustain all forms of life on earth. May it be plant life, animal life, and most importantly, humans, almost all forms of life in the world are all supported by forests for survival. This might be a very common issue to talk about, but I think it would be very relevant to us to reiterate the selfless contributions that we are getting; especially now that it almost seems that we are taking this all for granted.
High-quality timber. High quality of woods generally found in tropical rainforest because their trees do not contain “tree rings.” The tree rings do not occur because the tropics do not have four seasons. This gives a smoother look to product trees such as the dipterocarps in Kalimantan’s tropical rainforest make high quality timber, which create a lot of money when sold overseas.
Land for plantations. One of the world’s biggest producer of palm oil is Indonesia. Palm oil plantations stretch as far as 31,640 square kilometers in the island, and it has grown 300% since the year 2000. It is a booming industry, and cutting down the rainforest gives more room for even bigger palm oil plantations.
Fuelwood. Gathering wood and lighting it up for energy is still use this method in more than half of the population in Kalimantan, because they are still uncivilized in the sense that they used fuelwood for their cooking and heating. And they have an easy access to the woods they need because rainforest are within their reach.
Flood control. Rainforest can provide a buffer to its surroundings from natural disasters such as flooding. The roots can store some of the water that reaches the soil while the leaves on the trees can collect rain water to slow its process from reaching the ground.
Agriculture. The farmers make use of the previously mentioned slash-and-burn technique for subsistence agriculture, and the big companies clear large areas of rainforest to plant palm oil plantations for commercial agriculture.
Land for settlement. The move from rural to urban areas has increased the need to further expand communities into the forests. This creates the need for more cities that need more land.
Tourism. Tourism is a big part of some economy. The rainforest play the role as a beautiful environment for tourists. National parks can be visited, which contains orangutans which roaming around the rainforest freely. It becomes a place that offers a unique experience to get in touch with the Mother Nature.
Fresh air. With an abundance of trees from the rainforest it’s a perfect place where people can breathe fresh air. There is such a high number of vegetation in the forest that contribute the air to become very clean and even healthy to breathe in.
Image credits: blog.farmusa.org
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