Rainforests contain about 50% of the worlds standing timber. They have the potential to produce 75% of all the worlds wood products if sustainably managed and developed sensitively. They are also a valuable gene pool of plant resources with the potential to produce vast quantities of food , fibre, and medicines.

Globally, tropical rainforests play an important part in the biogeochemical cycles - notably water and carbon. Total destruction of the remaining rainforests would , it is estimated, increase the atmospheric concentration of CO2 by 50%. Rainforests are important in conserving soil nutrients and preventing large scale erosion in regions of high rainfall and easily leached soils.

Rainforests are disappearing at a rate of 1 acre per second, which is equal to the whole of England and Wales per year, 50% more than 10 years ago, half of which is taking place in Latin America where 20 million acres are destroyed annually. A Friends of the Earth study in 1989 showed that 142,000 sq.km. were destroyed in that year plus a further 200,000 were seriously damaged. The rapid rate of deforestation, especially in South America, has raised concerns about the "lungs of the planet".

The main causes of deforestation are uncontrolled logging, the collection for fuel wood and clearance for agriculture.