{"id":1285,"date":"2011-05-22T15:10:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-22T15:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pachamamitaecu-org-720647.hostingersite.com\/2011\/05\/22\/mayo-22-dia-internacional-de-la-biodiversidad\/"},"modified":"2011-05-22T15:10:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-22T15:10:00","slug":"mayo-22-dia-internacional-de-la-biodiversidad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pachamamitaecu.org\/en\/2011\/05\/22\/may-22-international-day-of-biodiversity\/","title":{"rendered":"May 22: International Day of Biodiversity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today, May 22, marks the International Day for Biological Diversity, which in this year declared by the UN as the International Year of Forests (2011), coincides with the importance of educating the community about the value of forests and the immense social, economic and environmental costs of their loss.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Forest biological diversity refers to all life forms found in forests, including trees, plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms, and their roles in nature. These species communicate and interact creating communities and systems that provide oxygen production, pollination, water filtration and storage, pest control, food production, carbon storage and erosion control.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The benefits of forests are far-reaching. Forests capture and store water, stabilise soils, harbour biodiversity and make an important contribution to regulating the climate and greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. <\/span>

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However, we ourselves are destroying forest biological diversity at an alarming rate through action, omission or disinterest. The causes are:<\/span><\/div>\n

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\u2013 the conversion of forests to agricultural land<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 overgrazing<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 unsustainable management<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 the introduction of invasive species<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 infrastructure development<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 mining and oil exploitation<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 man-made fires<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2013 pollution and climate change<\/span><\/div>\n

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We must be aware that forests offer much more than just wood. They also regulate local temperatures and protect drinking water supplies, act as carbon sinks and mitigate climate change, and have economic, social and cultural functions in the lives of many people, especially indigenous communities.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Traditional medicine is based on natural products and plants found in forests. By destroying forests, we may be destroying cures for diseases that have not yet been discovered.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Genetic, species, ecosystem, process and functional biodiversity is in danger when forests become endangered.<\/span><\/div>\n

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The main factors that can cause the loss or decrease of biodiversity at local, regional, national or global scale<\/span><\/div>\n

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\u00b7 Habitat loss and fragmentation: Due to the advance of plantations, livestock, industry, among other factors.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00b7 Excessive exploitation: which in many cases reaches the point of extinction.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00b7 Soil, water and air pollution: Pollutants degrade and destroy habitats.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00b7 Introduced species: A new species, which has not evolved jointly with the other elements of the ecosystem that receives it, can threaten indigenous species.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00b7 Global climate change.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00b7 Industrial agriculture and forestry: Especially when it comes to genetically modified species or large-scale plantations.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Facts and figures<\/span><\/div>\n
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