<
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/04/how-to-conserve-species-in-a-much-hotter-world/>
"By 2075, we will be living on a planet that is much hotter, possibly 3-5°
Celsius (5.4-9° Fahrenheit) hotter than the preindustrial average. But how can
humanity help nature improve its climate resilience in the years to come?
Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance found some answers after interviewing several
conservationists.
“In 50 years, it’s entirely possible that climate change will have become the
largest threat to many species in the world — and thus to ecosystems in
general,” James Deutsch, CEO of the U.S.-based nonprofit Rainforest Trust, told
Hance.
Conservation in today’s world, according to Andrew Whitworth, executive
director of Costa Rica-based Osa Conservation, needs a three-pronged approach:
having more protected areas like national parks, implementing species-focused
conservation programs and building climate resilience.
One solution to building climate resilience into nature is to have “large,
connected, well-managed ecological systems,” Jean Labuschagne, director of
conservation development at the NGO African Parks, told Hance.
Deutsch said large ecosystems are naturally more resilient. “I think focusing
on the most intact remaining large ecosystems, and especially large tropical
forests, becomes really important. … The very size provides adaptive ability,”
he said. Deutsch’s group has been putting additional focus on the Amazon, the
Congo and New Guinea, home to three of the world’s largest tropical forests.
Size matters because large ecosystems and landscapes give wildlife more room to
move and seek new habitats in case of drought, flood or fire, Hance wrote.
Deutsch said this is why the 30×30 initiative, in which countries aim to
protect 30% of Earth’s land and waters by 2030 — only five years away — is an
important tool. Today, only 17% of the world’s surface and 8% of its oceans are
protected."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
