Articles

Fastest deforestation of Amazon rainforest in Brazil in six years; Amazon reaching a resilience tipping-point

"Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has hit a six-year high, the national space agency, Inpe, reports. Some 3,988 square kilometres (1,540 square miles) of land were cleared in the region between January and June. Last year, 3,088 square kilometres of the rainforest were destroyed during the same period." [1] "We find that more than three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has been losing resilience since the early 2000s, consistent with the approach to a critical transition. Resilience is being lost faster in regions with less rainfall and in parts of the rainforest that are closer to human activity. We provide direct empirical evidence that the Amazon rainforest is losing resilience, risking dieback with profound implications for biodiversity, carbon storage and climate change at a global scale." [2]

Read more at:
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-62103336
[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01287-8

Facing Extinction: Nine Steps to Save Biodiversity

"More than 140 species of mammals, 24 birds, 6 reptiles, and 5 amphibians deteriorated in conservation status, moving from lower to higher risk categories of concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global authority on the conservation status of the world’s animals and plants. Only 37 mammals improved during this period, along with two birds and one amphibian. Here are nine tactics that could help moderate human-caused extinctions: 1. Biodiversity Parks 2. Ecologically Reclaimed and Restored Habitats 3. The Fabric of Local Communities 4. Diversity in Human Landscapes 5. Legislation 6. Ecological Economics 7. Endowment: Biodiversity Trusts 8. Bioliteracy 9. Toward Zero Extinction"

Read the paper at: thesolutionsjournal.com/2016/02/22/facing-extinction-nine-steps-to-save-biodiversity/

High exposure of global tree diversity to human pressure

"83% of tree species experience nonnegligible human pressure across their range on average. ... Protecting high-priority areas for the top 17% and 50% priority thresholds would increase the average protected proportion of each tree species’ range to 65.5% and 82.6%, respectively, leaving many fewer species (2,151 and 2,010) completely unprotected. The priority areas identified for trees match well to the Global 200 Ecoregions framework, revealing that priority areas for trees would in large part also optimize protection for terrestrial biodiversity overall. Based on range estimates for >46,000 tree species, our findings show that a large proportion of tree species receive limited protection by current PAs and are under substantial human pressure. Improved protection of biodiversity overall would also strongly benefit global tree diversity."

Read the paper at: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2026733119

Amazon rainforest is approaching a tipping point of transitioning to a savannah

"Deforestation and climate change, via increasing dry-season length and drought frequency, may already have pushed the Amazon close to a critical threshold of rainforest dieback. ... We find that more than three-quarters of the Amazon rainforest has been losing resilience since the early 2000s, consistent with the approach to a critical transition. Resilience is being lost faster in regions with less rainfall and in parts of the rainforest that are closer to human activity."

Read the paper at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01287-8

Conservation of Earth's biodiversity is embedded in Indigenous fire stewardship

"Indigenous peoples comprise 5% of the world population but protect approximately 85% of its biodiversity through stewardship of indigenous-managed lands. ... Supporting indigenous-led fire stewardship can assist with reviving important cultural practices while protecting human communities from increasingly severe wildfires, enhancing biodiversity, and increasing ecosystem heterogeneity."

Read the paper at: www.pnas.org/content/118/32/e2105073118

United Nations report concludes indigenous peoples of Latin America are, by far, the most effective guardians of rainforest in the region

Read the original report at: www.fao.org/americas/publicaciones-audio-video/forest-gov-by-indigenous/en/

Read a news article discussing this report at www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/25/indigenous-peoples-by-far-the-best-guardians-of-forests-un-report

Wildlife populations have plummeted by two-thirds in 50 years

Natural areas that used to support biodiversity and have been converted for farming are the biggest reason for the population decline of thousands of species around the world. The WWF study has found that the average population size has dropped by 68% worldwide between 1970 and 2016.

Read the original article at: www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/wildlife-populations-biodiversity-loss-human-action

The importance of Indigenous Peoples’ lands for the conservation of terrestrial mammals

Council on Foreign Relations: How Brazil’s Burning Amazon Threatens the Climate

Nature and Culture International: Unparalleled in scale, complexity, and diversity, the Amazon stabilizes key processes that are vital to life on Earth.

National Geographic: Rainforest Encyclopedia

Monga Bay: Amazon Destruction

Amazon fires: What's the latest in Brazil? Dark clouds of smoke smothered cities in Brazil as parts of the Amazon burned at a rate not seen in years, and the world responded with outrage.