Why in the news?

  • As per United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report Tropical forests comprising 391 million of the world’s total 1.6 billion hectares forestland are at high risk of loss.

Tropical Forest, Significance and Threats

  • Tropical Forest:
    • Location: Tropical forests are dense evergreen forests found between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn (roughly 23.5° N–23.5° S).
    • Major regions: Amazon Basin (South America), Congo Basin (Africa), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, India’s Western Ghats, Andaman-Nicobar).
    • Climate: High temperature (25–30 °C), heavy rainfall (> 200 cm annually), high humidity.
    • Types:
      • Tropical Rainforest (evergreen, multilayered canopy)
      • Tropical Deciduous Forest (monsoon forests)
    • Features:
      • Plants: Characterised by tall trees with broad leaves, epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants), and abundant vines.
      • Animals: Teeming with life, including monkeys, snakes, insects, colourful birds, and frogs.
  • Significance:
    • Biodiversity Hotspots:
      • House more than half of the world’s plant and animal species, including many endemic and undiscovered species.​
      • Support complex food webs and important genetic diversity, influencing global ecosystem resilience.
    • Climate Regulation & Carbon Sequestration:
      • Act as major carbon sinks, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, thus helping mitigate climate change.​
      • Regulate local and global climate patterns through evapotranspiration and canopy cover, maintaining temperature and precipitation cycles.
    • Water Cycle Maintenance: Critical in maintaining the earth’s hydrological cycle- help influence rainfall patterns and prevent floods and droughts.
    • Source of Livelihood and Resources:
      • Provide timber, medicinal plants (up to 25% of medicines from rainforest plants), fruits, nuts, and other economic goods.​
      • Indigenous peoples depend on the forests for food, shelter, and culture.
      • Support employment through agriculture, tourism, and sustainable harvesting.
    • Soil Protection and Nutrient Cycling: Roots stabilize soil, preventing erosion. Forests also play a key role in recycling nutrients through the ecosystem.
    • Cultural and Social Value: Home to thousands of indigenous communities, maintaining unique traditional knowledge and cultural heritage.
  • Threats faced:
    • Deforestation: Caused by expansion of agriculture (soy, oil palm, cattle ranching), logging for timber, and infrastructure projects.
    • Habitat Fragmentation: Forest patches become isolated, reducing breeding populations and genetic diversity, making adaptation to climate stresses more difficult.
    • Climate Change: Increased temperatures, extreme weather events, and changing rainfall patterns lead to more droughts, fires, and shifts in forest composition.
    • Degradation from Extractive Industries like mining
    • Biodiversity Loss: Habitat destruction, leading to extinction or severe reduction of species populations, especially specialists and large fauna.