The world?s rainforests are home to at least 50% of all animal and plant species on the planet and in many areas, destruction of the forests has already wiped out animal or plant species that lived there.! The really sad thing is that sometimes we probably don?t even know a species has been made extinct, as no-one had  ever discovered it before it was gone.

Orang-utans in danger-

On the two islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Indonesia, the rapidly growing palm oil industry is threatening the survival of one of our closest relatives, the orang-utan.! About ten million hectares of rainforest has already been cleared to make way for palm oil plantations.! Palm oil plantations were responsible for at least half of the destruction of the orang-utan?s habitat which took place between 1992 and 2003.

Right now, around 90% of the planet?s original orang-utan habitat has been destroyed.! Just a century ago, the combined orang-utan population of the two islands was around 230,000 individuals.! In 2010, the total orang-utan population numbers no more than 62,500 and of these up to 5,000 are being lost each year, which means the orang-utan could have as little as 12 years left.! A 2007 UNEP report has suggested that 98% of Indonesia?s rainforest could be destroyed by 2022 if current rates of deforestation continue.! Humans aren?t even trying to wipe out the orang-utans directly, but they want their forest for palm oil plantations.! Imagine how little chance a species would stand if we were trying to eradicate it!

More species in danger-

There are probably only 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, again thanks to the destruction of its homelands for palm oil plantations.! Meanwhile in the Brazilian Amazon, by 1993, there were just 272 golden lion tamarins (small monkeys) left in the wild.! A highly successful captive breeding and reintroduction programme since then has led to a recovery in golden lion tamarin numbers.! There are now over 1,000 golden lion tamarins in the wild, backed by a captive population of about 500 worldwide.! Wherever humans destroy rainforest, animals and plants become endangered, but sometimes, as was the case for the golden lion tamarin, humans can help too.