RAINFOREST PROTECTION

Preserving living diversity, improving living conditions & promoting sustainability

The tropical rainforests
are the most species-rich
Ecosystems
of our earth.

They stabilize the climate and regulate the global water balance. They are the source of food, medicine, ideas and raw materials that have become an integral part of our lives today. They are the basis of existence and home to millions of people. Despite this, the destruction of these unique habitats continues unabated. Every year, around 15 million hectares of tropical forest are irretrievably destroyed. With these forests, up to 70 species disappear forever from the library of life every day – many of them before we even know of their existence [1].

The ongoing destruction of tropical forests is responsible for around one ninth of man-made climate-damaging CO₂ emissions worldwide^[2].

Tropica Verde has been committed to the preservation of the world’s tropical rainforests since 1989 and thus makes a direct contribution to climate protection.

Forest protection is climate protection!

Tropica Verde supports specific nature and species conservation projects in Costa Rica with donations and membership fees. The protected and reforested forests provide a habitat for endangered animals and plants and secure the drinking water supply for an entire region.

The conservation of this diverse and irreplaceable natural wealth is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time. We all have to do something about the ongoing destruction.

When we protect the rainforest, we also protect its function as a CO₂ reservoir. The plants in the rainforest absorb CO₂ and produce sugar through photosynthesis to cover their energy requirements. The carbon is stored in the plant material and thus removed from the atmosphere. If the forests are cleared and burned, this CO₂ is released again. This increases the greenhouse effect and temperatures on earth rise. [3]

It is therefore extremely important to protect existing forests in order to preserve them as CO₂ reservoirs! The reforestation of former forest areas also binds CO₂ from the atmosphere.

A hectare of 60-year-old tropical rainforest binds around 590 tons of CO₂ over the course of its lifetime and around 10 tons of CO₂ every year thereafter [4]. Old, mature trees bind much more CO₂ per year than young trees. Tropica Verde supports both: on the one hand, we protect original primary forests, some of which have trees over 100 years old, such as the giant kapok trees. On the other hand, we plant young trees in mixed cultivation where necessary. For us, targeted means that we only reforest with locally occurring tree species in special buffer zones or forest-connecting biocorridors, which also expand the habitat of the animals. In this way, our protected areas help to stabilize the climate.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT THE CLIMATE?

To protect the climate, the top priority should be to avoid emissions. In concrete terms, this means not setting the heating to 25 degrees, renovating houses to make them more energy-efficient, taking electrical appliances off standby, repairing them instead of buying new ones, eating less meat and leaving the car at home more often. Unfortunately, some climate-damaging actions cannot be prevented. If you want to travel to Costa Rica, for example, a flight is essential. This is where a donation to Tropica Verde comes into play, because with your donation or membership you are making a targeted contribution to binding CO₂ and protecting the climate.

To protect our climate, we ask you to do both: donate to rainforest conservation and save greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible! Further tips on climate- and rainforest-friendly behavior
can be obtained from NABU.

How you can support us

“Many small people in many small places, taking many small steps, can change the face of the world.” African proverb

Spiny butterfly caterpillar in the Las-Brisas nature reserve

Amazone-meets-wasp and parrot in the rainforest near Boca-Tapada

Golden silk spider large female and small male, Puerto-Viejo Costa-Rica

We would like to take this opportunity to point out that Tropica Verde does not advertise and sell classic CO2 offsetting. CO2 compensation is often cited by companies as a green measure to improve their image. Many factors need to be considered when it comes to CO2 compensation. CO2 compensation is still a hotly debated topic. Anyone who donates to Tropica Verde is not offsetting but supporting climate protection projects in general. As a small personal association, Tropica Verde also attaches great importance to the correct and particularly transparent use of donations. This way you can be sure that your donations will be used for current and future rainforest protection and environmental education. The DZI donation seal confirms this needs-oriented use of funds.

Sources and further information:
[1] https://www.spektrum.de/lexikon/biologie/regenwald/56026
[2] https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/regenwald-abholzung-klimafolgen-sind-groesser-als
[3] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2035-0
[4] http://www.tropica-verde.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20200205-CO2_Berechnung_Uni-Wien-2011.pdf
[5] https://www.planet-wissen.de/natur/landschaften/regenwald/index.html
[6] https://www.wald.de/waldwissen/tropischer-regenwald/
[7] https://www.bmuv.de/themen/klimaanpassung/ueberblick-klimaanpassung

For detailed information on tropical rainforests, we recommend taking a look at the

Info-Center of Fascination Rainforest

Helping instead of complaining

Support the tropical rainforest with your donation or become a member of the association

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