DEFINITION

Rainforests are vegetation types dominated by broadleaved trees that form a dense upper canopy. Trees can attain a height of 300ft and a width of 6ft.Tropical rainforests cover the richest of the rainforests located in the ever-wet tropics. They are the oldest major vegetation type still present on terrestrial Earth. Tropical rainforests today represent a unique treasure trove of biological heritage. They are reservoirs of unparalleled biodiversity and a wealth of ecological interactions.

CRITICAL THREAT TO DIVERSITY

Throughout the world, efforts to protect rainforests from illegal logging, forest fires and other critical threats have all too often been characterised by a familiar catalogue of poor management, inadequate co-ordination, negligence and downright abuse. With the forest destroyed forever, many species of flora and fauna are pushed to extinction. The list of endangered species is large and growing, literally daily:

Mammals:

Orang Utan Pongo Pygmaeus

Sumatran Rhino Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

Pygmy elephant Elephas pymaeus

Sumatran Tiger

Proboscis Monkey Nasalis lavartus

Asian Tapir Tapirus indicus

Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa

Malayan Sun Bear Helartos malayanus.

Birds:

Maleo Macrocephalon maleo.

Trees:

Sulawesi Ebony Diospyros celebica

Belian Eusideroxlyon zwageri

Kuku Pericopsis elata

Merkus Pine Pinus merkusii

Molave Vitex Parviflora

The pressures of civilization are threatening the rainforest. The implications of tropical deforestation are so manifold and far-reaching that, in the words of Edward Asner, "it is likely that in the not too distant future, not one of the planet's citizens, plant, animal, or human, will be unaffected."

Given their role as an essential planetary life-support system, the protection of rainforests has been universally recognised as a priority programme of Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity and similar initiatives emanating from the international community.