What are tropical rainforests?
Tropical rainforests grow in the hot, wet, humid places near the Equator. The plants and trees in the rainforest grow to different heights. The forest can be divided into four layers: the forest floor, the understorey, the canopy and the emergent (layer of larger trees which stick out above all the rest).

Why are they important?

They are important for various reasons. Firstly, they clean and renew the Earth’s air supply by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Secondly, they provide a home to thousands of animal and plant species.

What grows there?

South American rainforests are the home of the wild cocoa plant, from which chocolate is made. The medicines quinine and aspirin come from tree bark and cough mixture is from tree resin, both found in rainforests. Some other important products that come from rainforest plants are mahogany wood, rattan, bananas, paprika, pepper and coffee.

Why are they in danger?

People are destroying the rainforests at a rate of 115 square miles a day. The trees are cut down and used as building material or fuel. The land on which these forests grow is being used for homes and factories and roads.

What can we do to save them?

There are lots of things that we can do to help protect the rainforests. Join an organisation which tries to save the rainforests, like Greenpeace. Write letters to politicians in countries where there are rainforests, asking them to stop allowing companies to cut down the trees. Don’t buy furniture which is produced from rainforest wood. Нужно сократить текст по максимуму. Помоготе пожалуйста!!!