Why save the forests?
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Gardner and Stern (2002) described that the earth photos taken during man’s first visit to the moon, was among the first causes to a significant increase in public concern on the importance of conservation. This is due to that fact that they taught earthlings that there is only one Earth in the universe (for now). We need to conserve what we have left of the finite resources as we will not be able to move elsewhere after depleting our resources. Should man not start to curb the harmful human activity, deforestation can bring about more irreversible impacts. While many biodiversity species had been wiped out, there are still many left undiscovered and for us to protect. With the increasing numbers of reports on the how human activity had changed the behaviour of Mother Earth, we start to realise that nature has something to offer which technology cannot. We realise the immense true value of the forests, such as medicinal values, undiscovered species, controlling of carbon dioxide levels and the list goes on. Fortunately, mankind is learning to adapt to utilising resources with greater care.
Research that analyses the relationship between man and nature also identify an interdependent relationship. One resulting theory was the Biophilia Hypothesis, identified by E. O. Wilson (1984; Kellert & Wilson, 1993). It stated that we have an innate need to be close to nature. As cited in Gardner & Stern (2009), people showed a liking towards pictures of natural landscape over urban landscapes. Hartmann (1995) also stated that while Thailand followed the footsteps into globalisation, local poets still follow the long history of taking inspirations from nature, writing their love for nature creatures and forests and fauna. The locals’ interest in nature is shown by the fact that they have used over 300 different species of natural beings in their artwork, showing their deep understanding of nature.
For a better and healthier tomorrow. The tropical rainforests is a place filled with potential cures to human illnesses. Despite the development in medical fields, we have yet to come up with cures to diseases, such as cancer. In comparison, as many as 2000 species found in the forests are labelled as having anti-cancer capabilities and such plants are actually widely available in the forests. The medicinal value of forests can be seen by how indigneous people had depended on medicinal resources from the forests to keep them healthy (Adventure Life, n.d.). With species that have medicinal values widely found in the forests, we have even more reason to protect every acre of forest land and to do our best in not sacrificing any.