It's estimated that over 150 acres of rainforest are lost per minute. This severe loss of canopies is not just giving animals no place to live — it’s changing the course of our planet’s future.
For many RAINFOREST species, such as chimpanzees and orangutans, deforestation is a human-made problem that hits too close to home. Mining, logging, and palm oil industries are the primary contributors responsible for destroying their lush, green habitats, making it harder for animals to survive.
Rainforest species face an uncertain future
Many species, including birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, depend on stable habitats for survival. But RAINFOREST loss and fragmented lands are now changing more than just the environment. Scientists report genetic diversity is lower for chimpanzees living in areas of western African where critical environments have shrunk. Four subspecies of chimpanzee are already labeled as endangered. As long as deforestation and fragmentation continue to threaten their genetic diversity, as well as the genetic diversity of other species, extinction remains inevitable.
Rainforest species on the edge of extinction
For all RAINFORESTS it’s a race against time to stop deforestation — or else, risk losing precious species. In Borneo, 1 in 4 orangutans are threatened by habitat loss. Studies have found Amazon’s poison dart frogs are losing their best defense because of deforestation: their poison. And for Panama’s pygmy sloth, which cannot move between large gaps of trees, less canopy means fewer than 100 remain in the wild. But these are just a few of the thousands of rainforest species we risk losing. It’s up to us to save them. But how?
Saving species from deforestation
For conservationists, mitigating damage caused by habitat fragmentation is of top concern. Fragmentation partially eliminates crucial habitats, leaving only pieces of the environment behind. This limits a species’ access to food and other vital resources, and often results in forced migration. As industry greed grows and forests shrink, it’s imperative conservation programs, including Rainforest Trust's initiative to create protected areas and Rainforest Action Network's Keep Forests Standing program, receive funding. Supporting programs that prioritize not only the conservation and restoration of existing rainforests but also the reforesting of new ones is one of the surest ways we can save rainforest life.
Donate to our REPLANT THE PLANET initiative and 100% of your contributions will go to organizations working to conserve, restore and reforest vital rainforests.
