If you’re lucky enough to visit Costa Rica you can’t help but be amazed by the fecundity of life there. Upon entering the forest one is surrounded by an abundance of green growth. A single mature tree is host to thousands of life forms: vines, bromeliads, epiphytes, tree frogs, and much more all demonstrating by their very being the interdependence of all life. Imagine thousands of such trees hosting hundreds of thousands of other life forms and you begin to understand that you are standing in the midst of an incredible abundance. But do you understand the importance of this abundance? According to EarthTalk, a regular feature of E/The Environmental Magazine there are over 100 prescription drugs sold today that are derived directly from rainforest plants. Two-thirds of medicines with cancer-fighting properties from such plants. Other maladies treated by plants from the tropical forests of the world include heart disease, diabetes, bronchitis, and tuberculosis to name only a few. Further products such as anesthetics, enzymes, hormones, antiseptics and antibiotics come from rainforest plants and herbs. Yet less than 1% of the plants in tropical forests have even been tested for their medicinal properties. At La Reserva we work with land owners such as Omar Quesada to protect existing forests on land they own in order to preserve not only the trees but also the life-enhancing medicinal plants yet to be found there. Our contracts with land owners gives them much needed income and prevents their having to sacrifice portions of their forests for the money it would provide. We are able to do this because of your help. It’s your donations that provide the funds needed to keep these forests intact and preserve the yet-to-be-found medicines within them. We thank you for your help with our efforts and hope that you will once again make a donation to this worthwhile project.
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Combined with other sources of funding, this project raised enough money to fund the outlined activities and is no longer accepting donations.
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