The rainforest previously covered 14% of the Earth's surface; today rainforests comprise only 6% of the Earth's landsurface.

Biodiversity in the rainforests account for a large portion of unique species in the world.  Human impacts are predicted to wipe out these species. 

Because of the rarity of the species in the rainforest, people want to trade animals, plant species, lumber and food products that are found in these unique ecosystems.

In order to stop aiding this illegal behavior, individuals can help by purchasing free trade rainforest alliance certified products from the following website www.rainforest.org/marketplace/index.html.

For example, Green Mountain Coffee is fair trade coffee that has been grown with rainforest sustaining practices in mind.

Show your support for rainforest biodiversity by avoiding purchase of endagered and illegally traded species that can commonly be found in pet stores. The endangered animals can be found at: www.wildlifedirect.org

They include:

Buying lumber products that are certified help rainforests persist because the lumber was harvested using sustainable techniques.  Information about certified lumber can be found at: www.fscus.org.