Threats Facing Biodiversity to Rainforest -myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theThreats Facing Biodiversity to Rainforest forConservation. Answer: Biodiversity is very important because it ensures natural sustainability for all lives on earth. Very many people depend on forests as a source of livelihood thus the loss of biodiversity will directly affect the lives of everyone all over the world. Additionally, biodiversity is very influential in realizing sustainable development goals. Rainforests all over the planet have been faced with some threats that could lead to their extinction (Koh Sodhi, 2010). It should be noted that of all environmental calamities, extinction is the most tragic and irreversible one. Below we will discuss some of the threats that face the biodiversity of rainforests worldwide. Excessive Poaching Excessive poaching done for the purpose of profit has put most animals at the risk of extinction. Many poachers hunt animals for food or to sell as raw materials for some products. For example, species like the Amazon River turtle and the Amazon Manatee are on the brink of extinction due to poaching (Peres, Gardner, Barlow, Zuanon, Michalski, Lees Feeley, 2010). Reports indicate that at the Brazilian Amazon alone, the harvest of wildlife claims the lives of close to 23.5 million birds, mammals, and reptiles (Peres et al., 2010). Additionally, in Africa apes and other animals are killed for bushmeat that is sold by the roadside. Excessive poaching has caused damage to the ecosystem of the rainforest by eliminating species that are key to the functioning of the system. Losing one single species could mean the extinction of several other species. It is reported that the Sumatran elephants could become extinct in the next fifty years due to the increasing rate at which they are poached for ivory. Animals are sometimes very critical in the transportation of seeds and their extinction could adversely affect the entire forest. Additionally, the extinction of some animals may lead to an ecological imbalance that may negatively impact on trees. The public should be educated on conservation and continued awareness regarding excessive poaching (Peres et al., 2010). The government should also enforce rules against such practices to deter the poachers from engaging in such activities. Illegal Logging Most loggers cut down tropical rainforests to gain access to more valuable trees like Mahogany that is sold for timber or used to make furniture. Other trees are also cut down to make other products like paper. Trees are important in the ecosystem of the rainforests because they hold the soil together to prevent the soil from washing into rivers (Zakaria, Rajpar, Ozdemir Rosli 2016). Approximately, 600,000 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed since 1970. Loggers make fortunes from these hardwoods but the money received is short-lived due to the fact that there may only be around two to three commercially viable trees in a large forest thus leading to their extinction (Zakaria et al., 2016). It is also important to note that when felling a single tree the size of a Mahogany, other several small trees are crushed as the Mahogany falls down. This leads to the destruction of the natural habitats of most animals. One factor that has encouraged illegal logging is bui lding roads through rainforests. Illegal logging can be solved through the education of the residents that forests play a vital role in the climatic conditions of several regions. Funding for the government can also be increased for the protection of the forests and planting of new trees to promote biodiversity. Clearing of Land for Agricultural Purposes All over the world rainforests are being cleared to create room for agricultural purposes. One of the agricultural activities that have taken center stage in recent years is the growth of the oil palm tree (Wilcove Koh, 2010). The production of palm oil is a very big business in Malaysia to the point that it has been received the title of Worlds Fastest Rainforest Destroyer according to the Guinness Book of Records. Livestock can also be responsible for the destruction of rainforests because they are fed on a plant known as Soya (Zakaria et al., 2016). Intensive farming of animals has led to the destruction of rainforests to create space for planting the Soya plant thus threatening biodiversity. The best solution to this problem is by introducing crops and livestock that will not require large plantations which may quickly exhaust the available land and thus protect the delicate ecosystem and preserve the biodiversity of the rainforests. References Koh, L. P., Sodhi, N. S. (2010). Conserving Southeast Asias imperiled biodiversity: scientific, management, and policy challenges.Biodiversity and Conservation,19(4), 913-917. Peres, C. A., Gardner, T. A., Barlow, J., Zuanon, J., Michalski, F., Lees, A. C., ... Feeley, K. J. (2010). Biodiversity conservation in human-modified Amazonian forest landscapes.Biological Conservation,143(10), 2314-2327. Wilcove, D. S., Koh, L. P. (2010). Addressing the threats to biodiversity from oil-palm agriculture.Biodiversity and conservation,19(4), 999-1007. Zakaria, M., Rajpar, M. N., Ozdemir, I., Rosli, Z. (2016). Fauna Diversity in Tropical Rainforest: Threats from Land-Use Change. InTropical Forests-The Challenges of Maintaining Ecosystem Services while Managing the Landscape. InTech.