Few aware rare rainforest habitat can be found in UK

MORE than half of people think they know what a “temperate rainforest” is, but far fewer realise the rare habitat is found on Britain’s shores, polling suggests.

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Nature charity Plantlife is calling for greater protection of Britain’s hidden and largely vanished rainforests, including government funding, full legal protection and long-term support for forest managers, and point to polling that finds support for the habitat is strongly backed by the public.

The poll of more than 2,000 people by Opinion Matters for Plantlife found that 58% thought they understood what a temperate rainforest was.

But 45% associated them with tropical rainforest-rich Brazil, while just one in five (20%) expected them to grow in England, only 12% linked them to Wales, and 13.5% thought they would grow in Scotland, all areas where they are found. It also found seven in 10 people would be interested in visiting a temperate rainforest, and 88% thought it was important that government makes protecting the habitat a priority.