Roles and Importance of Sacred Groves in Biodiversity Conservation in Chiang Mai

Abstract

Today we are losing earth's greatest biological treasures just as we are beginning to appreciate their true value. Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years (Taylor, 2010). Tropical rainforests are disappearing from the globe; they continue to be destroyed at exceeding 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) per day. Along with them, the planet looses as many as several hundred species to extinction because the tropical rainforests are incredibly rich ecosystems that play a fundamental role in the basic functioning of the planet. There are home to probably 50 % of the world's species, making them an extensive library of biological and genetic resources. In addition, rainforests help maintaining the climate by regulating atmospheric gases and stabilizing rainfall, protect against desertification, and provide numerous other ecological functions. Deforestation of tropical rainforests has a global impact through species extinction, the loss of important ecosystem services and renewable resources (Butler, 2010)