Loss of Biodiversity and Rainforests

Loss of biodiversity in rainforests, particularly the Amazon, is a significant issue due to deforestation and forest degradation. Tropical rainforests are crucial for storing CO2 and preventing global warming. They also provide jobs and resources for millions of people. Agriculture and illegal logging are the main causes of devastation and degradation. The consequences include damage to water sources, air pollution, and reduced CO2 absorption. Biodiversity is essential for ecosystem stability, and WWF is working to protect forests through responsible management and policy reform. Urgent action is needed to preserve nature and biodiversity. -------- Hey everyone, I am Roberta. I am working with my partners Francisco and Lucas, and today we are going to talk about Loss of Biodiversity in Drain Forests. Biodiversity loss refers to the decline of disappearance of biological diversity, understood as a variety of living things that inhabit the planet, its different levels of biological organization and their respective genetic variability. Home to over half the world's plants and animal species, tropical rainforests are one of the most important ecosystems on Earth. They are able to store and absorb vast amounts of CO2, playing a huge role in the prevention of global warming and therefore being of great value to the planet, especially in the current climate crisis. In the Amazon, around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years, mostly due to forest conversion or cattle ranching. Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet. They help people feed and survive by, for example, purifying water in the air and providing people with jobs. Some 13.2 million people across the world have a job in the forest sector and another 41 have a job that is related to the sector. Many animals also rely on forests, but forests around the world are under threat, jeopardizing this benefit. The threats manifest themselves in the form of devastation and forest degradation. The main cause of devastation is agriculture. Poorly planned infrastructure is emerging as a big threat too, and the main cause of forest degradation is illegal logging. In 2019, the tropics lost close to 30 stalker fields worth of trees every single minute. Nevertheless, these forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, and the negative environmental consequences of this devastation are seeing local. This includes damage to natural water sources, reducing water quality and quantity, air pollution, and forests are no longer present to absorb the vast amount of CO2 released from the burning. Biodiversity is critical for the stability of all ecosystems, and each species has an important, specific role to play. Destruction and reduction of many species can disrupt ecosystems, preventing them from functioning and providing to viable ecosystems services. Nature needs to sustain life for all species, including humans. WWF has been working to protect forests for more than 50 years. WWF works with governments, companies, communities and stakeholders to promote certification for responsible forest management practices, combat illegal logging, reform state policies, protect forested areas and more. We only have until the end of the decade to bend the curve of nature and biodiversity laws. Transformational change is possible if we start now at every level from local to global.