9781422277027

INTRODUCTION

T he tropical jungles of this world are located close to the equator and are home to more than half of all animal and plant life found in the world today. They play a very important role in stabilizing Earth’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, which is vital for our very survival. In fact, scientists have referred to rainforests as the lungs of our planet. Jungles should be appreciated and preserved for their role in providing a home for millions of species of plants, animals, and insects, and for their contributionof plant-derived medicines. Unfortunately, our rainforests arebeingdestroyedat analarming rateby loggers and builders of oil palmplantations, farms, and highways, who have prioritized the profits derived from these destructive actions over protecting our climate and the fact that they are causingmany species to become either extinct or to be on the verge of extinction. This book will focus on four of the largest tropical rainforests that exist in the world today—The Amazon Basin; the jungles of Sarawak, Borneo; the jungles of Papua New Guinea; and the vast rainforest of the Congo region in Central Africa. We will learn about the differences between tropical and temperate rainforests, the different jungle layers,

8 INTO THE WORLD’S AMAZING JUNGLES: JUNGLE FACTS & FIGURES