The current loss of biological diversity is unprecedented and species extinctions exceed the estimated background rate many times over. Coinciding with increasing human domination and alteration of the natural world, this loss in abundance and diversity is especially pronounced with—but not limited to—fauna in the tropics. A new publication from scientists at the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) in Sweden and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Germany now explores the links between defaunation of tropical forests and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a paper published in the scientific journal Ambio they illustrate how losing an abundant and diverse fauna undermines food security, increases the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, reduces the capacity of carbon storage and thereby weakens fundamental pillars of sustainable global development. In the light of these insights, they urge to give defaunation more attention in interdisciplinary research, forest policy and conservation.
Click here for original story, Loss of fauna in tropical forests impedes achieving Sustainable Development Goals
Source: Phys.org