FORESTS have been in the spotlight during this year, designated ‘International Year of Forests’. The earth’s ‘living treasures’ have been recognized as being globally important in regulating climate, and locally important in sustaining communities and supporting biodiversity. However, unsustainable logging, agriculture and the demand for bio-fuel producers have placed forests and the people who depend on them under increasing pressure as competition continues for land use.
All forests have both economic and ecological value, but tropical forests are especially important in the global economy. These forests cover less than six per cent of the Earth’s land area, but they contain the vast majority of the world’s plant and animal genetic resources. The diversity of life is astonishing. The original forests of Puerto Rico, for example, contain more than 500 species of trees in 70 botanical families, while Guyana’s tropical forest is home to approximately 8,000 plant species and over 1,000 animal species. There is also diversity in other life forms: Shrubs, herbs, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. One study suggests that tropical rainforests may contain as many as 30 million different kinds of plants and animals, most of which are insects. Other roles of forests include:
·    Production of over 40% of the world’s oxygen
·    Home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity
·    Providing livelihoods for 1.6 billion people  
·    More than a quarter of modern medicines, worth an estimated US$108 billion a year, originating from tropical forest plants. 
·    The carbon in forests exceeds the amount of carbon currently in the atmosphere.
Value of forests
All forests have both economic and ecological value, and are especially important to the global economy. They contain the vast majority of the world’s plant and animal genetic resources and the diversity of life within them is astonishing.
Forests provide many valuable products, including rubber, fruits and nuts, meat, rattan, medicinal herbs, floral greenery, lumber, firewood, and charcoal. They are used by local people for subsistence hunting and fishing, and provide  incomes and jobs for hundreds of millions of people in small, medium, and large industries.
Forests are also home to many who depend on them for their livelihoods. Many more also live in areas adjacent to tropical forests, and rely on them for their water, fuel wood, and other resources. For urban dwellers, tropical forests provide water for domestic use and hydroelectric power. Their scenic beauty, educational value, and opportunities for outdoor recreation also support tourism industries.
Many medicines and drugs come from plants found only in tropical rainforests. Some of the best known are quinine, an ancient drug used for malaria; curare, an anaesthetic and muscle relaxant used in surgery; and rosy periwinkle, a treatment for Hodgkin’s Disease and leukaemia. Research has identified other potential drugs that may have value as contraceptives or in treating a multitude of maladies such as arthritis, hepatitis, insect bites, fever, coughs, and colds. Many more may be found, but only a few thousand species have been evaluated for their medicinal value.
In addition, many forest plants find uses in homes and gardens: Ferns and palms, the hardy split-leaf philodendron, marantas, bromeliads, and orchids to name a few.

Environmental benefits
Forests do more than respond to local climatic conditions; they actually influence the climate. Through transpiration, the enormous number of plants found in rainforests returns huge amounts of water to the atmosphere, increasing humidity and rainfall, and cooling the air for miles around. In addition, forests replenish the air by utilizing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. By fixing carbon, they help maintain the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and counteract the global ‘greenhouse’ effect.
Forests also moderate stream flow. Trees slow the onslaught of tropical downpours, use and store vast quantities of water, and help hold soil in place. When trees are cleared, rainfall runs off more quickly, contributing to floods and erosion.
Sources:
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/forest/about_forest_conserv/
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101028094716AAbNlVE
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1008-forest_dialog.html
You can share ideas and questions by sending your letters to: ‘Our Earth, Our Environment’, C/o EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email eit.epaguyana@gmail.com