If you destroy a plant in one area, you can probably find it elsewhere. But the closer you get to the equator, the smaller a plant's range is, and that makes it more vulnerable to extinction. But you can't ask or order people in the tropics not to do what we did - so education is important. The rain forest has plants that contain medicine such as quinine, which is used to treat malaria. People all over the world have to learn how important plants and trees are so we stop destroying them, he says.
Plants are a main source of food for both humans and animals.
Many also produce chemical compounds that are used by shamans, or tribal doctors, to treat diseases. Some rain forest medicines, such as quinine, have saved thousands of lives all over the world. And the shamans, the folks with the best knowledge of plants, are dying off. The younger people are not as interested. Now, they need our support, too.