Saving Rain Forests and Lives

Imagine reaching for prescription medicine and being all out. What would you do? Easy solution, go to the pharmacy and get a refill. Now envision a world where pharmacies no longer exist and many prescription medicines were hard to come by.  Life would be much more complicated for the entire human race. This scenario may sound far reached however it is a plausible future for the world if humans are not careful with their resources.  Many pills and other medications in pharmacy stores have been made from exotic plants that exist in the rain forest. One in every four medicated related purchases come from the rain forest plants. With half of the world’s rain forests being cleared many exotic plants that have been used or could be used for medical purposes have gone extinct.  Therefore we must reduce deforestation in rain forests in order to not offset the intricate balance of resources that are located there.

Cocoa plant

            Rain forest plants have already provided tangible evidence of their potential with treatments for a range of medical problems, from childhood leukemia to toothaches. For example the cocoa tree is one of the most important medicinal producing, rain forest plants. The cocoa tree alone generates over 150 chemicals that can be extracted from its leaves, seed, and fruit and bark. From the tree extracts scientists and pharmacists are have been able to produce medicine that treat anxiety, fatigue, fever, sore throats, kidney stones and external cuts and bruises. With proper research, scientists believe they might find cures for some of the world’s deadliest diseases among rain forest plants. Some of these plants have yet to even be discovered and thus tested of their medical potential. As rain forests are being destroyed so is the hope to find ways to create new life-saving drugs and cures through their plants.          

Slash-burn method used to destroy
parts of the rain forest in Madagascar for
the cultivation of coffee beans.

            There is a possibility that a plant in the rain forest could treat and cure cancer. Imagine a world without cancer. A single type of plant would change the world dramatically. If mankind could save lives through the extraction of plants in the rain forests then why do rain forest keep being destroyed? The deforestation of rain forests happens for many reasons; the majority of the reasons are related to money or local people’s need to provide for their families. Agriculture works as a growth machine to greatly influence many to destroy rain forests. To expand their fields’ farmers will cut down a few acres of a forest. Farmers do this to generate more profit and to support their families. Logging operations also have an immense drive to destroy the rain forest. By cutting down trees every year logging 

A logging operation in  Gunung Palung
National Park in Indonesian Borneoan. 

companies produce wood and paper products for the world. The notebook paper you use for class most likely did not come from a rain forest however the custom chairs or floors that you see in stores are made from trees from the rain forest. These companies also destroy the rain forest by creating roads within one forest to get to another one thus creating more deforestation.    

            There are several positive and negative externalities to be considered in the debate on deforestation. Positive externalities are that through agriculture and logging it is economically beneficial to many people. The list of negative externalities on the other hand, could be too long list because it depletes and destroys so many resources. Realizing the negative externalities outweigh the positives the world needs to take action against deforestation. A solution to this problem could be to eliminating the clear-cutting practices that are used in deforestation. This would allow the remainder of the forest such as the plants to remain intact. The cutting that does occur needs to be balanced by the planting of enough young trees to give the ecosystem in the rain forest stability and balance. If mankind is able to at least significantly slow down deforestation and keep the balance of the ecosystem stable there is a considerable chance to one day finding the plant that cures cancer.

Sources:

Bell, Michael. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, 1998. Print.

"Deforestation Facts, Deforestation Information, Effects of Deforestation - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Szalay, Jessie. "Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 06 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"Saving Rainforests with Medicinal Plants." Mongabay.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.