User:World Rainforest Day

World Rainforest Day, June 22nd.

World Rainforest Day is a collaborative effort to encourage global citizens, partners and stakeholders to join together in collectively raising worldwide awareness and action to save one of the earth’s most precious resources, our rainforests. World Rainforest Day (WRD) will encourage global participation through community events, virtual collaborations, creative projects and educational initiatives, all designed to celebrate the diversity of rainforests across the globe and highlight the value of these critical ecosystems. Historically there has been a lot of attention focused on saving rainforests but it was not until the 2015 COP21 in Paris that including forests became recognized as a core part of the global climate solution.

''"Without taking care of the forests, it's going to be impossible to achieve the Paris agreement." Naoko Ishii, CEO of GEF (Global Environment Facility)''

Facts and Figures.

Rainforests are some of the oldest and most complex ecosystems on earth. They are found in nearly 85 countries around the world and although they cover less than 2% of the earth, they: Produce more than 40% of our oxygen; Contain 50% of all the plants and wildlife on earth; Store nearly 7 billion metric tons of carbon in the Peruvian Amazon alone; Account for 1/5 of the worlds fresh drinking water in the Amazon Basin

The rainforests are disappearing before our eyes with nearly 2,000 acres of rainforest lost every hour, the impacts of which we’re only beginning to understand. Already, global rainforest communities are experiencing the true ramifications of climate change with dramatic weather events increasing and deforestation devastating communities and biodiversity.

''“Our planet is currently losing over 15 billion trees each year. That’s 56 acres of forest every minute.” —EarthDay''

Figures released by the EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) estimate that tropical deforestation and forest degradation account for as much as 19 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions today—a number that could be dramatically impacted by reducing deforestation and restoring forest land—with results much more rapidly achieved than through cuts to fossil fuel use.

External Links.

- World Rainforest Day - Rainforest Partnership - Ear to the Earth - Aurality Media Lab