Rainforest facts

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6-13%

Estimates of the world's land surface area covered by rainforests

 4 years

The predicted future length of time in which rainforest destruction alone will release more carbon into the atmosphere than every flight from the dawn of aviation until 2025

Source: The Stern Report 2006

1 in 4

The number of purchases from pharmacies, in countries such as Britain, that contain an active ingredient derived from a tropical forest species

Source: Rainforest Foundation

17%

Global emissions that forestry produces - this is more than the global transport sector

Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

$12 trillion

Estimated total damage cost of forest loss for the global economy

Source: Eliasch Report, October 2008

 200

The number of tree species found in a single hectare of rainforest

Source: Rainforest Foundation

Size of England

The estimated area of forest to be lost every year

Source: Oxfam

20-30%

Estimates of the amount of the world's fresh water that is contained in rainforests

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Comments

4
  • Brooke said
  • 27th March, 2009 at 5:22pm

I really hate what we are doing to the Rainforest.! It isn’t good at all and we all need to stop! I never really noticed how bad it really was, till I got stuck with a project on the Rainforest in school. We cut down so many trees, while animals live in them. I wander how the people who are cutting down the trees would like us to cut down their home. I bet they wouldn’t!

  • Caroline said
  • 1st April, 2009 at 1:12pm

I never knew it was this bad… The poor rainforests!!

  • Catherine said
  • 8th May, 2009 at 11:52am

I cant believe what we are doing did you know that 70% of our cures for deadly dideases come from the rainforest.

  • Louis said
  • 21st May, 2009 at 12:35pm

OMG the size of england! thats so bad

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