| The Amazon Rainforest is the worlds greatest natural resource. It represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. It's bio-diversity of plants is unlike anywhere else on earth.  Photo By Alejandro Balaguer for Prom Peru # 002261 Because its vegetation continuously recycles carbon dioxide into oxygen, it has been described as the "Lungs of our Planet". About 20% of earth's oxygen is produced by the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest has long been a symbol of mystery and power, a sacred link between humans and nature. The plants found there are rich in beneficial nutrients phytochemicals and active constituents. Native peoples of the Amazon rainforest have used different plants for centuries as cures and potions for their health and survival.Long regarded as unfounded "magic" by scientists, the plant knowledge of indigenous peoples is now thought by many to be the Amazon's new gold. Scientists are now discovering that many of the plants are sources for new drugs for AIDS, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer's. Drugs such as Quinine, muscle relaxants, steroids, and cancer drugs have already been discovered there. Today 121 prescription drugs sold around the world come from plant-derived sources. Although 25% of all drugs are derived from rainforest ingredients, scientists have tested only 1% of tropical plants. |
Unfortunately, today, more than 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed and is gone forever. The land is being cleared for cattle ranches, mining operations, logging, and subsistence agriculture. Some forests are being burned to make charcoal to power industrial plants. More than half of the world's rainforests have been destroyed by fire and logging in the last 50 years. Over 200,000 acres are burned every day around the world, or over 150 acres every minute. Experts also estimate that 130 species of plants, animals, and insects are lost every day. At the current rate of destruction, it is estimated that the last remaining rainforests could be destroyed in less than 40 years. We now have the opportunity to help preserve this extremely vital natural resource. By educating, encouraging and supporting the farmers of the Amazon rainforest to convert their land to sustainable harvest, the rainforest, farmers and ourselves will benefit immensely. Environmentalists have stated there is not only a biological incentive to protecting the rainforest, but also an economic one.  One hectare in the Peruvian Amazon has been calculated to have a value of $6820 if it's kept intact and sustainably harvested for plants, fruits, and latex. It's only worth $1000 if clear-cut for commercial timber (not sustainably harvested) and only $148 if used as cattle pasture. |