Why plant forests, and why focus on restoring tropical rainforests?
While all forests have climate-cooling powers by reducing the CO2 in our atmosphere, tropical forests trap larger amounts of carbon dioxide and evaporate more water. In doing so, they produce that thick (and beautifully dramatic) cloud cover that reflects sunlight back to space. "Tropical forests are like Earth's air conditioner,” Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has said.
Tropical rainforests are one of the most important barriers against increased carbon dioxide levels around the world. Trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breath. In doing so, they help to maintain low levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, thus cooling the planet. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “One acre of forest absorbs 6 tons of carbon dioxide and puts out 4 tons of oxygen, enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people”.
Trees’ far-reaching roots hold soil in place and fight erosion. Trees absorb and store rainwater which reduces runoff after a storm. This helps the ground water supply recharge and prevents the transport of chemicals into streams. This way, trees also prevent flooding.
And the rainforest is the home and food for many different species of animals, from elephants to many species of birds and bats to a myriad of insects, the leaf-covered branches keeping many animals, such as birds and squirrels, out of the reach of predators. And as animals eat the fruits from the trees, they disperse the seeds over great distances.
Deforestation has increased dramatically around the world. In 2017 alone, the Earth lost 40 football fields worth of forests every SECOND - due to logging, mining, cattle grazing, forest fires, and poor forest management practices. As forests burn and climate change worsens, the impact of Amazon deforestation continues to gradually undo the fragile ecological processes that have been refined over millions of years. Over the last 150 years, humans have been pumping massive amounts of CO2 into the air by burning fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas - this is a major driver for global climate change.
That is why we believe that the best way to reduce climate change is in saving our forests from destruction, and replanting forests that have already been destroyed.