Facts about Rainforests by The Nature Conservancy

• Covering less than 2 percent of the Earth’s total surface area, the world’s rainforests are home to 50 percent of the Earth’s plants and animals.
• Seventy percent of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer are found only in rainforests.
• Less than one percent of the tropical rainforest species have been analyzed for their medicinal value.
• Originally, 6 million square miles of tropical rainforest existed worldwide. But as a result of deforestation, only 2.6 million square miles remain.
• At the current rate of tropical forest loss, 5-10 percent of tropical rainforest species will be lost per decade.
• Every second, a slice of rainforest the size of a football field is mowed down. That’s 86,400 football fields of rainforest per day, or over 31 million football fields of rainforest each year.

Photo of John Hunter in Costa Rican rain forest, by Justin Hunter.

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