The world's leaders meet at the end of 2009 in Copenhagen to determine the fate of the climate. They could set us on the path to a deep emissions cuts or they could lock the planet into catastrophic, irreversible climate change.
Deforestation and forest degradation are both a cause and a result of climate change. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and use it to grow, but when they decay or burn the carbon dioxide is released again. Decaying plants also produce methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide.
Forest destruction produces about one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than that emitted from all the cars, planes, and trains in the world.
Three of our closest relatives, the gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo all depend on the Congo rainforest for their survival. Of exceptional ecological importance, the forest is home to 270 species of mammals, of which 39 are unique to the region.
