Lesson video

Hello and welcome.

My name is Ms. Harrison.

I'm so excited to be learning with you today.

Today's lesson is called Value of Tropical Rainforests to People and the Environment.

Grab everything that you might need for today's lesson and let's begin our learning.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll understand the value of rainforest to people and the environment.

Before we can begin this learning, we need to define the keywords that we'll be using throughout today's lesson.

The keywords are goods, service, climate change.

Goods.

These are the physical resources or products that can be directly harvested or used by people and animals.

Service.

This is the natural processes or benefits that rainforest provide to support life on earth, often indirectly.

And climate change.

This is the long term changes in temperature, weather patterns, and atmospheric conditions resulting from human activities like burning fossil fuels.

Now that we've defined these keywords, we can begin our learning.

The first question we are going to explore in today's lesson is why are rainforest special? Rainforests are really important biome for people and the environment.

I would like you to pause the video here and have a think why rainforest is special.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The reason why rainforests are special are: they have a high biodiversity, their homes for indigenous communities, they help with climate regulation, they prevent soil erosion, they're a natural pharmacy, and they're a source of food.

When we look at tropical rainforest, they provide value to people in the environment in two specific ways, through goods, physical resources or products that can be directly harvested or used by people and animals, and services, natural processes or benefits that provide support to life on earth, often indirectly.

I would like you to pause the video here and have a think if you can name any examples of goods or services that are provided by the tropical rainforest.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Examples of some of the goods provided by the tropical rainforest are: timber, medicine, plant oils, and fruits.

And services provided by the tropical rainforest are things like carbon sinks, homes for indigenous communities, water supply, and tourism.

Which of the following is an example of goods produced by the tropical rainforest? Pause the video here whilst you take a closer look and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The image that is an example of goods produced by the tropical rainforest is A, they're coffee beans.

Well done on this task.

True or false, rainforest are only valuable for timber and agricultural products.

Pause the video here while you decide if this statement is true or false, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

This statement is false.

I would now like you to explain why the statement is false.

Pause the video here while to attempt to explain this and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The reason why the statement is false is because rainforests are valuable for more than just timber and crops as they support biodiversity, regulate the climate, and maintain the water cycle and provide medicinal resources.

Well done if you explained that correctly.

I would like you to define what is meant by a service provided by the tropical rainforest.

I would also like you to include an example if you can.

Let's look at what Aisha and Izzy have said.

Aisha has said, a service is something that you can't always physically see.

Is that right? And Izzy has said rainforest provide homes for lots of people and animals.

Is that a service? Well, Aisha is completely correct.

We don't always see the service that is provided by the tropical rainforest.

And rainforests providing homes for lots of people and animals is a service.

Pause the video here while you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Let's check our answers.

Your answer may have included some of the following points.

A service provided by the tropical rainforest is something that benefits people in the environment without being a physical product.

For example, rainforests help regulate the climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

Excellent work in this task.

I hope you managed to include some of those points.

We're now going to explore our second question of today's lesson, why are rainforests valuable to people? I would like you to pause the video here and think why rainforests are valuable to people.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The reason why rainforests are valuable to people are: they provide resources, medicine, energy, employment, homes, and environmental protection.

Now let's take a closer look at these.

Rainforests are incredibly important, not just for their biodiversity, but also for their contributions to medicine.

Over 25% of modern medicines come from rainforest plants, many of which have been used to treat serious diseases.

For example, the Rosy Periwinkle, a plant found in tropical rainforests, is used to treat leukaemia and other cancers.

Its natural compounds are vital in producing drugs that save lives.

This shows how essential it is to protect rainforests as they contain many species that could hold the key to future medical breakthroughs.

How do you think rainforests might impact our ability to discover new medicines? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Deforestation could limit our ability to discover new medicines by destroying plants and species that may hold unknown medicinal properties, reducing the potential for future medical breakthroughs.

Rainforests are not only home to a diverse range of wildlife, but they also provide shelter and resources to many indigenous communities.

These communities have lived in the rainforest for generations and their cultures and identities are deeply connected to the forest.

The rainforest provides 'em with food, shelter, and materials for everyday life, and their knowledge of the ecosystem is often passed down through generations.

This connection is essential to their way of life and protecting the rainforest helps to preserve their culture.

Rainforests are crucial, not only for biodiversity, but also for providing jobs and income to millions of local people.

Industries like timber, rubber, and ecotourism rely on rainforests offering economic opportunities for communities.

For example, Costa Rica has successfully implemented ecotourism, where visitors come to explore its rainforest and experience its unique wildlife and biodiversity.

This provides income for local communities while promoting conservation through responsible tourism.

How do you think balancing economic development with forest conservation can benefit both local people and the environment? Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Balancing economic development with forest conservation can benefit both local people and the environment by creating sustainable industries like ecotourism that provide income while preserving the forest biodiversity and natural resources for future generations.

Let's test our knowledge.

Which of the following is a way in which tropical rainforests contribute to medicine? Is it A, they provide essential metals used in medical equipment, which cannot be found anywhere else, B, they're home to plant species used in development of medicines, or C, they regulate supplies of fresh water, which is used to create medical supplies? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answer is B, they're home to plant species used in the development of medicines.

Well done if you managed to identify that correctly.

Rainforests are the source of many foods which are important for local communities and international trade.

For example, coffee from and Columbia, bananas from Ecuador, and cacao from West Africa and the Amazon.

Locally, trees protect communities against floods and landslides.

Let's take a closer look at how they do this.

Trees and plants cover the soil, reducing erosion and flooding.

Roots act like anchors, keeping soil in place and preventing landslides.

Water flows more slowly, reducing the risk of floods and soil loss.

Rainforests are vital in the fight against global climate change because they naturally absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, which helps reduce greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.

This process is essential for mitigating climate change and maintaining a stable climate.

However, higher temperatures and more extreme weather events due to climate change can have serious effects on food production, health, and living conditions.

These changes construct agriculture, increase the spread of diseases, and make living in certain areas more difficult.

As you can see, the map on your screen is a chloropleth map, showing the frequency of drought events.

The darker the colour, the higher the frequency.

And as you can see, there are a number of places around the world where the frequency of drought is increasing.

Let's take a closer look at how this will impact people.

If there's an increase in CO2, it means there's going to be high temperatures and more extreme weather events, and then it's going to impact on our food production, health, and living conditions.

How do you think the loss of rainforests might worsen these challenges for communities worldwide? Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The loss of rainforests worsen these challenges by releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, intensifying climate change and leading to even more extreme weather events which would further disrupt food production, harm public health, and negatively impact living conditions for communities worldwide.

Rainforest are not only crucial for absorbing carbon dioxide, but they also play an important role in regulating water cycles.

They create their own rainfall through the process called transpiration, where moisture is released into the air leading to rainfall that supports both local and global fresh water supplies.

For example, the Amazon rainforest helps to maintain water availability for millions of people in South American cities like Sao Paolo and Lima, where rainfall is critical for drinking water, agriculture, and energy production.

Without rainforest, those cities could face water shortages and even more severe droughts.

Why do you think preserving rainforest is so important for maintaining fresh water supplies in regions far beyond the rainforest itself? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Preserving rainforest is essential for maintaining fresh water supplies 'cause they help regulate rainfall patterns, ensuring that cities and regions far beyond the rainforest receive the water needed for daily life, agriculture, and energy production.

True or false, the Amazon rainforest is only valuable to the people who live directly within it.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

This statement is false.

I would now like you to explain why the statement is false.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The reason why the statement is false is because rainforests are crucial, not just for local communities, but for the entire planet.

They have a role in regulating the global climate by absorbing carbon dioxide, reducing oxygen, and stabilising regional weather patterns.

This protects people from the impact of rising sea levels and extreme weather.

Well done on this task.

I hope you managed to explain that correctly.

Which of the following explains how rainforest vegetation can help protect local communities from landslides? Is it A, rainforest canopies prevent rainfall from reaching the ground, preventing saturation, B, Rainforest trees absorb excess water, meaning that rainforest never flood, or C, rainforest roots help bind the soil together, reducing erosion and stabilising the ground.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The answer is C.

Rainforest roots help bind the soil together, reducing erosion and stabilising the ground.

Well done if you managed to identify that correctly.

I would now like you to describe two ways tropical rainforests are valuable to people.

Before we do this, let's take a look at some of the questions our students have asked.

Lucas has said, rainforest provide local people with goods, like different types of foods, and Andeep has said they also provide people with services.

Some of those are local and some are global.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic work.

Let's check our answers.

Your answer may include some of the following points.

Plants from tropical rainforests have been important in the development of medicines like the Rosy Periwinkle, which is used around the world to treat leukaemia.

Rainforests are also where many foods, such as bananas, cacao, and other fruits and spices, originally come from.

Local people eat food from the rainforest, but around the world, people also value foods that might not exist without the rainforests.

Tropical rainforests regulate the global climate by acting as carbon sinks, absorbing CO2 during photosynthesis, reducing greenhouse gases, and fighting global warming.

Climate change threatens lives locally and globally with an increase in extreme weather and rising sea levels.

Rainforests also shape weather patterns by releasing water vapour, driving rainfall, and maintaining the water cycle.

Now, Amazon, for instance, is vital for regulating water supplies in South American cities like Sao Paulo and Lima.

Well done on this task, you've done brilliantly.

I hope you managed to include some of the following points.

We're now going to explore our final question of today's lesson, why are rainforest valuable to the environment? I would like you to pause the video here and have a think why rainforests are so important to the environment.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The reason why rainforests are valuable to the environment is because they provide water regulation, biodiversity, climate regulation, carbon sink, nutrient cycling, and soil stabilisation.

I would like you to add the missing labels to the diagram below.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The missing labels are biodiversity, climate regulation, and nutrient cycling.

Well done.

Rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystem on earth, home to an astonishing variety of species.

They house over 50% of all land-based species, over 1,500 mammal species, more than 4,000 bird species, around 2,000 reptile species, as many as 2.

5 million insect species, and over 4,500 fish species.

If the rainforests were to disappear, thousands of species would go instinct, severely disrupting the entire ecosystems and the services they provide such as pollination and food chains.

Rainforests play a vital role in the nutrient cycle.

They store huge amounts of nutrients in their biomass, which supports high levels of biodiversity.

This process helps to maintain the health of the ecosystem by recycling nutrients back into the soil.

When deforestation occurs, these nutrient store is lost, and heavy rainfall can wash away valuable nutrients from the soil leading to a loss of fertility.

Without these nutrients, the soil becomes less productive and it becomes harder for the forest to regenerate, disrupting the entire ecosystem.

Let's take a closer look.

Rainforests store huge amounts of nutrients and biomass, suporting the high biodiversity.

And then if they're removed, deforestation removes the nutrient store with heavy rainfall, then leaching nutrients out to the soil.

How do you think the loss of nutrient cycle due to deforestation impacts the overall health of the environment? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The loss of nutrient cycle due to deforestation leads to soil degradation, reduced fertility, and the collapse of ecosystems, making it harder for plants and trees to grow, which in turn disrupts biodiversity and affects the overall health of the environment.

Rainforests play a crucial role in protecting soil from erosion, which helps preserve the entire ecosystem.

The roots of trees and plants help to hold the soil together, preventing it from being washed away during rainfall.

However, deforestation weakens the soil leading to sediment buildup in rivers.

This can cause several environmental problems including flooding, decreased water quality, and then harming to aquatic life as the sediment smothers habitats and disrupts a natural flow of water.

How do you think the erosion of soil caused by deforestation could affect other parts of the ecosystem beyond just the soil itself? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

Soil erosion caused by deforestation can affect other parts of the ecosystem by disrupting plant growth, leading to the loss of habitat for wildlife, and reducing food sources for animals and damaging the health of rivers and wetlands, which in turn impacts biodiversity and water resources.

Rainforests play a crucial role as carbon sinks.

They absorb excess carbon emissions from the atmosphere, and help to slow down the rate of climate change.

By soaking up carbon dioxide, they help to mitigate the impacts of human activities that contribute to global warming.

However, when rainforests are lost, the carbon stored in the trees is released back into the atmosphere, further increasing carbon emissions.

This puts even more stress on global ecosystems, which are already struggling to adapt to rapid climate change.

Let's now take a look at this graph.

This graph is showing the atmospheric carbon dioxide from 1960 to 2020.

As you can see, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing rapidly.

What do you think would happen to global ecosystems if we lose the ability of rainforests to absorb carbon and help regulate the climate? Pause video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

If we lose the ability of rainforests to absorb carbon dioxide, it would lead to higher carbon emissions, accelerating climate change, and putting immense stress on ecosystems causing disruption in biodiversity, weather patterns, and essential ecological processes worldwide.

Rainforests play a vital role in regulating global climate systems by influencing rainfall patterns.

Through a process called transpiration, trees in the rainforest release moisture into the atmosphere which then condenses to form rainfall.

This moisture doesn't just stay in the rainforest, it affects its surrounding areas, creating rainfall in regions well beyond the forest itself.

When rainforests deforested, its natural moisture cycle is disrupted.

With fewer trees to release moisture, there is a reduction in regional rainfall which can lead to drought conditions.

This loss of rainfall affects not just the deforested area, but can also cause water shortages in other areas that depend on the rainforest moisture to sustain the local ecosystem and agricultural activities.

The consequence of this is felt far beyond the forest potentially harming biodiversity, reducing crop yields, and increasing the vulnerability of communities towards scarcity.

In regions where rainfall is already limited, the disappearance of the rainforest moisture contribution could push the balance further toward arid conditions, making it harder for both human populations and wildlife to thrive.

This is why the preservation of rainforests is crucial not only to the forest itself, but the broader environmental stability of the surrounding regions.

Which of the following best describes the role of tropical rainforests in the water cycle? Is it A, they store large quantities of salt water.

B, they create new water bodies such as lakes.

C, they reduce rainfall by reducing heat through absorption.

Or D, they contribute to rainfall through transpiration.

Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answer is D, they contribute to rainfall through transpiration.

Well done if you managed to get that correct.

True or false, rainforests do not affect global climate systems. Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Fantastic.

The answer is false.

I would now like you to explain why this answer is false.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The reason why this answer is false is because rainforest help regulate global climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and reducing climate change.

They also influence the water cycle regionally by the ways they store and release moisture.

An environmental organisation would like you to write a short rainforest impact report focusing on the environmental value of tropical rainforests.

Jun has said rainforest are valuable for both local and global environments.

Izzy has said when trees are cut down and burned, they release CO2 into the atmosphere.

Is that right? Yes, that is correct.

I would now like you to pause the video here and attempt this task of writing a rainforest impact report and press play when you're ready to continue.

Brilliant work on this task.

Let's check our answers.

Your answer may include some of the following points.

Tropical rainforests are essential to the health of our planet.

They regulate the climate by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide, helping to slow down climate change.

Without these forests, CO2 levels would rise much faster leading to more extreme weather events across global ecosystems. Rainforests also have a significant impact on regional rainfall.

Trees release water into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration, which forms clouds and generates rainfall.

If tropical rainforests are destroyed, it could lead to droughts and disruptive water supplies in surrounding environments.

Rainforests are also home to about 50% of the world's land-based species, making them incredibly important for global biodiversity.

If we lose these forests, we risk driving many plants and animals to extinction, which would disrupt entire ecosystems. Furthermore, the dense vegetation of rainforests help prevent floods by absorbing rainfall and reducing runoff.

Without this natural protection, soil erosion would increase, adding silt to river environments and also into marine environments which alters habitats and disrupts ecosystems. Excellent work on this task.

You've done brilliantly.

I hope you managed to include some of the following points in your answer.

But now comes the end of our lesson, learning about the value of tropical rainforests to people in the environment.

You've done fantastically.

Before we finish, let's summarise everything that we've learned in today's lesson.

Tropical rainforests are truly exceptional because they represent most biodiverse ecosystems on planet, home to over half of land-based species.

These forests are teeming with a vast variety of plants and animals, fungi microorganisms, many of which are yet to be discovered.

This staggering diversity plays a key role in maintaining health and resilience of ecosystems, supporting everything from pollination to nutrient cycling, and providing a rich source of materials for scientific research.

Rainforests are not only home to incredible biodiversity, but also provide essential goods that humans rely on every day.

They offer food such as fruits, nuts, and spices, medicines with many modern pharmaceuticals derived from the rainforest plants, and timber, which is used for building in furniture.

Beyond these direct resources, rainforest provide critical services that support life on earth.

For example, they act as carbon sinks, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

They also produce oxygen essential for all living organisms and regulate local climates by maintaining temperature and humidity levels.

On a local scale, rainforests are vital for survival and the livelihoods of millions of people, especially indigenous communities who rely directly on the rainforest for food, shelter, and income.

These communities have lived in the rainforest for generation, using their deep knowledge of the ecosystem to maintain a sustainable relationship with nature.

The forest provides central resources for these communities, such as medical plants, fruits, and materials for building homes.

Regionally, rainforests play a significant role in climate regulation, by influencing weather patterns and ensuring water supplies.

The moisture released by the trees into the atmosphere through transpiration creates rainfall, which not only supports the forest itself, but impacts surrounding areas, sustaining agriculture and water sources for cities and towns.

Without healthy rainforests, these regions would face more severe droughts, water shortages, and disruption to food production.

On a global scale, rainforests are crucial to the fight against climate change.

By acting as carbon reservoirs, they absorb excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, help to reduce global warming.

The loss of rainforest would lead to a release of the stored carbon accelerating climate change, and intensifying the challenges faced by ecosystems worldwide.

Furthermore, the destruction of rainforest would threaten, not only the wildlife that depends on them, but also human communities and ecosystems that rely on the environmental services these forests provide.

In conclusion, tropical rainforests are not just important, they're indispensable to the wellbeing of our planet from providing resources and supporting local communities to regulating the climate and combating global climate change.

These forests are integral to life as we know it.

Protecting and conserving rainforests is essential for maintaining biodiversity, sustaining ecosystems, and ensuring a stable climate for future generations.

Well done in today's lesson.

You've done absolutely brilliantly.

I look forward to learning with you again very soon.