Climate transformation has had a disastrous effect on our planet, a frightening number of animal species have either been extinct or subjected to the threat of extinction as a direct impact of human actions.
It is ascertained by the scientists that humanity has killed half of all plants and 83 percent of all wild mammals.
Statistics like these can be incredibly worrying, however, the scientists finally have given us some healthy news: they have discovered an amazing amount of biodiversity in a formally undiscovered location of the rainforest.
The Lost City
A group of researchers sent from Conservation International carried on a three-week research expedition followed by a deep discovery of the ancient ruins within the Mosquitia forest dubbed “the white city” or “the lost city of the monkey god“.
Amazingly, they discovered a thriving ecosystem in its mint condition, abundant with unique and rare species, some novel species, and some of the species that were previously considered as extinct. They reported 198 bird species, 94 butterfly species, 40 tiny mammal species, 56 amphibian and reptile species and 30 large mammal species.
The Director of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program Trond Larsen described the excitement of his group:
“Our team of scientists were shocked at the discovery of tremendously rich biodiversity, including many rare and threatened species,” said Larsen.
What’s the importance of Biodiversity?
The more biodiversity an ecosystem possesses, the more fertile it will be, and the more number of species it possesses, the more enduring it will be for all forms of life. When disasters happen, healthy ecosystems have the potential to withstand them.
A healthy, diverse ecosystem supplies resources for all the creatures, including:
- Ecosystem supplies:
- Protection of water resources
- Formation of soil and protection
- The storage facility of nutrients and recycling
- Breakdown of pollution and absorption
- Offering to climatic stability
- Preservation of ecosystem
- Retrieval from unforeseeable events
- Biological resources:
- Food
- Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical medicine
- Products of timber
- Ornamental plants
- Population reservoirs and Breeding stocks
- Future resources
- Diversity in genes, species and ecosystems
- Social benefits:
- Education, monitoring and research
- Tourism and Recreation
- Cultural Values
As per the United Nations, humanity faces extinction itself when it is unable to stop the pace of the extinction of wildlife.
The Executive Director of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Oliver Langrand discussed the importance of a diverse ecosystem at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
“Biodiversity is life on Earth, and every extinction chips away at it, undermining the stability of the planet,” he stated.
Humans depend on the supplies of ecosystems, irrespective of living in a tribe in the forest or in urban areas. This consists of pollination, soil fertility and stability, food, medicine and fresh water.
The bigger the population is, the more significant it is to protect these resources, which means protecting the biodiversity of our ecosystems.
Biodiversity and Climate Transformation
Biodiversity is also a significant part of the solution to climate transformation. Eleven percent of the whole quantity of global greenhouse emissions are a direct effect of deforestation, therefore protecting these can lead a long way in deduction of the global CO2 emissions.
“For a relatively small investment, high-biodiversity forests and other ecosystems can be conserved and restored as a powerful means to rein in climate change while also helping communities cope with associated storms, flooding and other impacts,” said Langrand.
The Economy and Biodiversity
Forty percent or more of the economy of the world is dependent on biological resources. If the loss of biodiversity is continued at the present pace, it is able to cost the United States 338 billion dollars per year.
In contrast, investing in global sustainable commercial opportunities and natural resources is expected to cost between two and six trillion dollars by the year 2050.
More significantly, the majority of the world’s poorest communities depend on the biodiversity of their locality in order to survive themselves, and so destroying that could have destructive results on those communities.
The Findings for Protecting the Region from Deforestation
Conservation International has the expectation that these findings will assist the area from the deforestation from the extent of the rainforest has already been subjected to.
“Overall, our findings demonstrate that the area is of the global environment as well as archaeological significance,” said Larsen. “Armed with this knowledge, stakeholders can now begin to design and implement conservation strategies to protect this critical ecosystem.”
Source of the information: The Hearty Soul
