world environment day
Around the globe, rainforests are failing
Portion of the Amazon rainforest, partially felled, at the site of a former gold mine in Brazil.
AFP / Antonio Scorza
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The United Nations Environment Program calls for the restoration of ecosystems degraded by man.
Example with the tropical forests, essential to our survival.
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The extension of agriculture, logging, gold panning or hunting... These are all dangers that gnaw away at tropical forests.
And now even the areas supposed to be protected are affected by man, as explained by Pierre-Michel Forget, professor of tropical ecology at the National Museum of Natural History: "
Today we consider that more than 50% of these protected forests are in poor condition.
They are strongly impacted by human activities and in particular fragmentation, hunting, roads, mining operations which also degrade these forests, which are nevertheless called "protected".
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Protect animals too
So how can these environments be effectively restored?
Reforest, yes, but while protecting animals.
Insects, birds and mammals participate in the life cycle of plants: “
To replant trees, you also need seeds.
However, these seeds, often in the tropical forest, have an extremely limited lifespan of a few days to a few weeks.
They cannot be stored, but in tropical regions, regeneration takes priority through the dispersal of seeds by animals.
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Forests produce oxygen
And it is urgent to protect this ecosystem reminds the researcher, because forests produce oxygen but also limit the temperature at ground level and thus the global warming of the planet.
Today, it is facing a triple emergency: the climate is warming up too quickly for people and nature to adapt;
a massive extinction of biodiversity, about one million species are currently threatened with extinction;
and pollution, which continues to poison our air, land and water...
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To read also: The OECD is concerned about an expected increase in plastic production and waste
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