Regardless of its location on the planet, whenever one hears news about a rainforest, it far more often than not seems that the news is never good. Whether it’s trees being cleared to make room for cattle, palm oil, or some other commodity valuable to humans, the last thing that seems to be taken into account when it comes to rainforests is the value they hold to life on this planet.
However Tony Juniper nevertheless retains hope, and he shares his reasons why in his new book Rainforest; Dispatches from Earth’s Most Vital Frontlines. He wants people to know that while, yes, the worlds rainforests are under considerable threat from various forces, other forces are aligning to preserve and restore them.
The cynic in me says “good luck with that.” Yet given Mr. Juniper’s decades of experience in international conservation, as well as being the present chair of Natural England, I’m willing to give him a chance to make his case. And if his many previous books on natural history and conservation subjects are anything by which to judge, I suspect it will be a very well argued one indeed.
