A Chance to Help Save The Rainforests

Our campaign is gaining momentum "Nature, the biggest bank of all, could go bust." This stark warning came from The Prince of Wales, who was asked to give the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture on BBC One. He also spoke about the work of The Prince's Rainforests Project. You can read his full speech here. Leaders of the G8 major industrial countries, meeting in Italy, reaffirmed that stopping rainforest destruction will be a critical part of the fight against climate change. This renewed commitment at the highest levels is encouraging and gives confidence that interim funding could be put in place next year. Fashion designer, Vivienne Westwood called for people to sign up to www.rainforestSOS.org during the Friday Night Show with Jonathan Ross. You can watch it here if you missed it. The iconic signs in London's Piccadilly Circus burst into life on July 2nd with the appearance of our animated rainforest frog, as Coca-Cola and McDonald's simultaneously launched new graphics to support The Prince's Rainforests Project. You can help us keep this momentum going. We have been working hard to keep our social networks fresh and interactive, and you can help us by joining our groups and spreading the word through your social network channels. Supporter of the Week Our Supporter of the Week is Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the founder of The Green Belt Movement, which has planted more than 40 million trees in Kenya. She has successfully mobilized communities there, and in other parts of the world, to inspire collective action in seeking improvements to the environment. She is now calling for urgent action to protect the world's rainforests. "Maybe it will take 100 to 150 years to return the forests to what they were. We have not valued the forest. When the forest disappears, the crops fail and the rivers dry up. The hunger comes. Politicians are putting immediate needs ahead of the long term. We must touch them in the heart and not just the head." Watch Wangari Maathai's video message with our frog. Last week we asked you to send in your questions about rainforests and climate change and we've had a great response so far. Your questions and the answers, from experts, including Wangari Maathai, will appear on our website starting next month. Send us your question today. Did you know? Human health depends on biodiversity. Together, the world's living species create an array of mechanisms to fend off pathogens or contain them in particular ecosystems that have defences built in. As we change the balance of the world's ecosystems, they are giving way to new and deadly infectious diseases. Find out more in Sustaining Life. 25% of all our medicines originate from rainforest plants and 70% of plants identified as having anti-cancer properties are found in the rainforest. Read the story of 8-year-old supporter and cancer-survivor, Isabelle Morin, and how a rainforest plant helped save her life. Of the 121 pharmaceutical drugs today that are plant-derived, 74% were discovered through research on the medical use of plants by indigenous peoples. Thank you very much for your continued support. Briony Mathieson Head of Communications The Prince's Rainforests Project P.S. Help us increase the number of people signing up to our campaign. In the run-up to the climate change talks in December, we can show the world how many people support urgent action to protect our rainforests. You have already signed up, but you can help us get others on board by telling your friends, making your own video with the frog, and spreading the word through your social network channels.

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