Tropical forests may seem a long way away, but they play a vital role in our lives. They operate as the worlds natural air-conditioning and thermostat systems and produce much of the rainfall essential to the worlds growing population.

Rainforests absorb nearly a fifth of all man-made CO2 emissions but they are currently being destroyed at the rate of a football pitch every four seconds. When these forests are burnt -- for agriculture or mining, for example -- they release stored CO2 back into the atmosphere, pushing annual CO2 emissions from tropical deforestation above those of the global transport network.

It is for these reasons that HRH The Prince of Wales set up The Prince's Rainforests Project with the clear ambition of 'Making the trees worth more alive than dead.' On May 5th, the PRP launched a worldwide campaign to raise awareness of this issue. This is where you can play your part. We are looking for a global gathering to show this is something people care about.