To preserve tropical forests, empower local communities
Thursday, August 20, 2020 - 06:30
in Earth & Climate
The world's tropical forests offer immense value to humanity, and the evidence of this is now overwhelming. Drugs derived from plants in tropical forests are used to treat cancer, diabetes and more. Trees sequester carbon, and the forests help to regulate regional and even global climate systems. One estimate of the ecosystem services these forests provide—the direct and indirect contributions they offer to human well-being—is more than $40 trillion dollars annually. That's almost twice the $24 trillion in products that countries around the world produce each year. Yet, tropical forests continue to face incredible challenges.