Think back to your G.C.S.E. biology lessons - trees take in poisonous carbon dioxide, exhaled by mammals, and using a process called photosynthesis, turn it back into oxygen.

The amazing areas of rainforest only cover 2% of the Earth's surface, and yet provide a unique home to approximately two thirds of all living species. Plus many medicine ingredients come from the plants there. It is their positioning along the Equator (primarily in South America, West Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines) that means they experience warm temperatures and high rain fall - helping millions of plants and animals flourish.

We've all heard the shocking reports of how quickly these wonderful areas are being destroyed - such as we lose an area the size of two football fields every second. Yet "a hectare (2.471 acres) of rainforest absorbs one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year" whilst "the clearing and burning of the world's rainforest accounts for 20-25% of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by man. It therefore could play a significant role in any so called "greenhouse effect" underway in our atmosphere."

References: www.savetherainforest.org