The destruction of tropical rainforest ecosystems and annihilation of numerous plant and animal species is happening at a faster rate than ever before.
While only being six percent of Earth's surface, tropical forests contain at least fifty percent of all species. The plethora of medical resources of tropical forests have already provided great amounts of advances in the medical field, but only 1% of the known plants and animals have been thoroughly examined for their medicinal potentials. At the same time, 2% of the world's rainforests receive irreversible damages annually. Scientists believe that, at the increasing rate at which rainforests are being destroyed, 20-25% of the world's plant species will be extinct by the year 2020.
About 7,000
While only being six percent of Earth's surface, tropical forests contain at least fifty percent of all species. The plethora of medical resources of tropical forests have already provided great amounts of advances in the medical field, but only 1% of the known plants and animals have been thoroughly examined for their medicinal potentials. At the same time, 2% of the world's rainforests receive irreversible damages annually. Scientists believe that, at the increasing rate at which rainforests are being destroyed, 20-25% of the world's plant species will be extinct by the year 2020.
About 7,000