BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY UNDER
Biologists have described one million species of the earth. In addition, they have estimated the number of the species from three million to thirty million. More than half of the species have their home in tropical forests. However, tropical forests rapidly being destroyed humans. Millions of hectares of tropical forests in Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia have been cut down or burnt. The destruction of tropical forests is causing the rapid extinction of the natural species that are native there. Out of 2 million species living in the tropical rain forests, 4,000 to 6,000 species are being disappeared every year, and it might reach up to 27,000 in the future. First, rain forests species are a valuable resource because their genes may enable scientists to strengthen domesticated species. Researchers are using genes from the wild American oil palm to develop resistance to the disease called spear rot in domesticated African oil palm. Second, the wild species of the tropical forests are an underused, valuable source of wild plants that could be domesticated. Next, the endangered species of the tropical rain forests could be a source of important new medications. Vinblastine and vincristine are extremely effective in the treatment of two forms of cancer.
Although the rapid loss of tropical species cannot be stopped completely, it can be slowed if we address all its causes. First, conservation is a necessary component of a solution to the biodiversity crisis. By protecting the habitat of this species, it shows their extinction. Next, to provide the information needed for conservation and education, we need to speed up research into the species of the tropical rain forests. Only then people will realize the value of conservation. Finally, we need to reduce the economic pressures that force people to destroy the rain forests.
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