My 5 year old son dreams of becoming a scientist /explorer and some day visiting the rainforest, with hope of discovering a new plant and animal species. . . That was my inspiration in choosing to raise money for this charity, and more I read about it, more strongly I started to belive in importance of saving the rainforest and other habitats of global biodiversity. Perhaps its much more vital than clearing up litter - or even than replacing high energy light bulbs.

Here are eight reasons why saving the rainforest is so vital: By "Rainforest" I include other threatened habitats of high biodiversity world importance - from montane forest to coral reefs, from Galapagos islands to swamp. - "Rainforest" is shorter and more colourful than "sites of high international biodiversity importance".

1. In Danger of Extinction: Over 1/4 the world's mammals and Over 1/8 of the world's higher plants (many now say over 1/4) Source : IUCN There are very few species under threat of global extinction in Britain. Therefore - as I see it - it is more important (with time, money and resources limiting) to find ways of saving animals and plants threatened with extinction throughout the world, than to protect blackbirds in one's hedge or spend effort on litter picking.

 2. Extinction rates are proceeding at 1000 (maybe 10,000) times as fast as when there were no human beings. Surely we ought to be doing more to save species for future generations. Many of us like to think we are leaving the world a better place. We give money to support big beautiful buildings. Think what good causes you have supported. Yet during my lifetime about 1% of the world's species will have disappeared.

3. Species are beautiful and interesting in their own right. We are no longer able to see the Dodo( my favourite bird ), the Carrier Pigeon, the Woolly Mammoth - species which have disappeared due to human activity. Is it fair that future generations may not be able to see the Orang Utan, Mountain Gorillas, the Chinese River Dolphin - because we have taken all their habitat. (The world population has doubled in the last 40 years and is set to double again in the next 60 years- so will then be four times as great as 40 years ago) In the UK butterflies are the group that has experienced the greatest net losses in recent decades, disappearing on average from 13% of their previously occupied 10-kilometer squares.

4.My interest in tropical plants is strongly influenced by all the biologists and scientists who travel to these exotic places to collect samples of plants and trees to be pressed and sent back for testing for drugs that could be useful for cancer or aids treatment.

5. CO2 from burning forests causes 1/5 of the global warming. CO2 produced by burning the world's forest makes up 1/5 of the human made CO2 going into the air each year and causing global warming. This is another reason to keep the forest standing as forest. CO2 and methane from man drained peatbogs adds to the global warming effect effect.

6. Collecting litter is good - not dropping it is better - refusing to buy over-packed goods at the supermarket is Best .- Whales starve to death because their stomachs fill up with plastic so their is no room for other food. Plastic litter looks unsightly and takes tens or hundreds of years to decompose. Plastic bags hold water, waters allows mosquito larvae to breed; the adult mosquitos carry malaria. If a bird gets a plastic beer can holder over its beak (young birds are very nosey) it starves to death. IT is fantastic how over the last two  years most supermarkets have stopped giving customers plastic bags unless they ask for one - and I am the worst culprit for forgetting my shopping bag. So litter, especially plastic litter is bad - But loss of species is worse. If I had £20 to spare I would donate it to a "Save The Rainforest Fund" rather than a "Keep Britain Tidy fund." What would you do?

7. We cannot rely on Zoos to keep our rare species Look what happened to the zoo in Iraq when the Americans invaded. Or what happened to the botanical gardens during the siege of Leningrad - and the heroic efforts made to save the seeds.

8. It is necessary to have a decent sized gene pool to keep the species going - Otherwise there can be inbreeding. There may be a hint of this in the bible. If you read Genesis carefully you will see that God asks Noah not just to take pairs of birds and certain animals but seven pairs of each species (Ch7 v 2) Actually a lot more than seven pairs would be needed to stop inbreeding.

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