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Human Impact on the Tropical Rainforest
Quick revise
Humans use the rainforest in the following ways;
- Logging - chopping down of trees
- Ranching - large areas of trees chopped down for cattle farming
- Mining - valuable minerals such as iron ore, bauxite and even gold
- Rubber tapping - some trees provide natural rubber from the sap
- Tourism - increasing number of tourists want to visit the rainforest
- Farming - farms vary from tiny subsistence farms to huge plantations growing a single crop such as palm oil
Impact on the Rainforest
Social Issues
Indigenous people e.g. Amerindians are left with out homes and many have been killed, either deliberately or by diseases introduced by people coming to the rainforest.
Too many tourists and tourist facilities can damage an area
Environmental Issues
Chopping down of large areas of woodland can influence global warming
Animals habitats are destroyed
Political Issues
Lots of groups do not agree about what should be done with the rainforest and this leads to great conflict
