With Mar. 21 designated by the United Nations as the “International Day of Forests and the Tree”,
Bradnee Chambers, the executive secretary of the U.N. Environment Programme Convention on Migratory Species,
explains why he sees forest and species conservation as two sides of the same coin.
BONN, Mar 20 2014 (IPS) - Of the endangered species listed for protection under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
a great many are forest dwellers – West African elephants, gorillas, bats and many birds.
And it is not simply a case of the animals depending on the forest for food and suitable habitat to breed and raise their young —
the forest often depends on the animals too.
Conservationist and CMS ambassador Ian Redmond describes elephants and gorillas as “gardeners of the forest”.
Elephants provide an invaluable service by uprooting trees, thereby making holes on the jungle canopy which allows light
to reach plants closer to the ground and encourages their growth.
Forest ecosystems, the most biodiverse of all terrestrial habitats, are often very finely balanced.
Gorillas eat fruit and the seeds pass through their digestive tract to be deposited as fertiliser.
Tropical fruit bats also play an important role in the pollination of plants.
Forest ecosystems, the most biodiverse of all terrestrial habitats, are often very finely balanced.
The more diverse, the more robust they are and the better they are at doing what we want –
and need them – to do.
While usually many species perform the same function, the removal of a top predator,
pollinator or seed disperser can set off a chain reaction, with far-reaching consequences.
A reduction in the forest’s resilience, increasing the likelihood of further species loss,
can impinge on its ability to provide the ecosystem services, such as water purification
and the production of oxygen upon which human well-being depends. The livelihoods of as much as a fifth of the world’s population are directly linked
to forests, which also provide a home for 300 million people.
Humans need both as they contribute to a healthy environment, a benign climate,
a sustainable economy and to a shared natural heritage that enriches our live in ways
that cannot be expressed in monetary terms.
