orests have already provided considerable medical advances, yet only one percent of the known plant and animal species have been examined and researched for the medicinal potentials. Seventy percent of the 3000 plants identified by the National Cancer Institute as having potential anti-cancer properties are endemic to the rainforest. (Jackson, 1989). The alkaloid d-turbocuarine found in the poisonous bark of curare lianas in the Amazon forest is used to treat such diseases as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and other muscular disorders. Chemical structures of forest organisms can also serve as templates from which scientists and researchers can chemically synthesize drug compounds. Because certain plant compounds enable scientists to understand how cancer cells grow, rainforests can also assist in research (WRI, 1999).
             But we are hardly the first to discover the medicinal benefits of the rainforest. For thousands of years, indigenous groups and their shaman have made extensive use of the rainforest plants for their health needs. The World Health Organization has estimated that 80 percent of the population in developing countries still rely on traditional medicine for their health care needs (WRI, 1999).
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