People are destroying the world's rainforests at a very fast rate. One of the reasons is deforestation. More and more trees are cut down every year because

  • the world's population needs more and more wood
  • people in the tropical rainforest need energy. They can't buy oil or gas because it's too expensive.
  • governments find valuable raw materials in these areas — like iron ore, gold or silver.
  • dams are built along tropical rivers.
  • big companies get land to grow meat and produce food.


Deforestation in the tropical rainforest

Image : Dikshajhingan / CC BY-SA 4.0