How we use the wealth of biological resources in the tropics has a profound effect on the health of our planet. But today these resources are being consumed rather than managed.

The implications for our world are profound. Once a habitat is damaged or destroyed, the risk of multiple extinctions increases dramatically. As species lose populations, their genetic flexibility - their ability to adapt, to survive climate change, disease, drought or disturbance - is diminished.

The consequences for global climate change are potentially disastrous. Once a forest is altered, the area loses its ability to retain moisture, leading to reduced rainfall, and when rains do come, degraded sites experience devastating soil loss and flooding. As more forests are cleared, the sustainability of wider regions is threatened. Worldwide, a decline in tropical forest cover allows more solar energy to be radiated back into the atmosphere, disrupting wind currents and rainfall far outside the tropics.