February 3, 2021
The first ever sighting of Meriania sanguinea in Tungurahua province, Ecuador
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The Amazon rainforest is one of the most under-researched places on earth. There still remain areas of the forest where no human has ever set foot before. The lands where humans have been, however, are being destroyed for agricultural land, oil exploration, logging operations, poaching you name it. All these threats are causing large areas of forest to disappear on a scale never seen before. This is very worrisome and a scientific gold mine is being destroyed right along with it.
We work intensely with local researchers through our partner foundation in Ecuador, CNBN. Researchers like Mario Giovanni Roma of CNBN work tirelessly to make the world aware of the incredible scientific discoveries yet to be made in the Native Forest. However, the research and publications require funds, which passionate locals do not often have. This is where STNF comes in; we help local researchers by funding their work and helping them to publicize it.
The rainforest still houses a significant number of undiscovered species in terms of plants, insects, animals (even mammals) that could shine a new light on life as we know it. Sadly with the rate of destruction and corruption in tropical regions, we might never know what we have lost. This has to stop and get way more international attention.
Did you know that around 25% of all medicine in the world today is based on ingredients found in the rainforest? This is a staggering amount and then to realize that there is so much of rainforest that is yet undiscovered. This incredible place on earth could hold to key to curing diseases that have cost us millions of lives and trillions for the economy. Discovering the next wonder medicine could lie in ancient knowledge from tribal communities. They have been able to thrive in remote isolated parts of the world better than most human populations. No doubt this is partly due to their knowledge of the environment and ecosystem they live in. For example certain combinations of ingredients, that is not yet known to us, that has helped them conquer diseases that we in the modern world are still having no clue how to deal with. Recently, the topic of indigenous communities holding answers to many diseases has been making headlines thanks to research on their gut microbiome. It showed tribal communities had a significantly larger bacterial diversity in their gut empowering their immune system and protecting them from a large range of diseases. It is time for us to listen and respect their knowledge because we have learned that they are willing to share it just to help us see the importance of mother nature.
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