Because of the great breadth of species and living resources that
reside in tropical forests, important environmental issues and complex problems
are created by their destruction. Weighing national sovereignty and third
world development with the global effects of rain forest destruction presents
political, economic and moral dilemmas. How do we assess the long term effects
of such practices as forest fragmentation on habitat destruction, and how
do we place a value on undiscovered species with likely medicinal or other
uses that will be destroyed if fragmentation continues? This section covers
these issues, providing resources for exploration of the latest information
on the destruction of rain forests, the success and failure of efforts to
address the problem, and ways that you can make a difference by learning
the facts and getting involved.
Photo courtesy of Marko Bleeker |
