Threats Facing Biodiversity to Rainforest

Running head: BIODIVERSITY TO RAIN FOREST 1
Threats Facing Biodiversity to Rainforest
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Institution

BIODIVERSITY TO RAIN FOREST 2
Threats Facing Biodiversity to Rainforest
Biodiversity is very important because it ensures natural sustainability for all lives on
earth. Very many people depend on forests as a source of livelihood thus the loss of biodiversity
will directly affect the lives of everyone all over the world. Additionally, biodiversity is very
influential in realizing sustainable development goals. Rainforests all over the planet have been
faced with some threats that could lead to their extinction (Koh & Sodhi, 2010). It should be
noted that of all environmental calamities, extinction is the most tragic and irreversible one.
Below we will discuss some of the threats that face the biodiversity of rainforests worldwide.
Excessive Poaching
Excessive poaching done for the purpose of profit has put most animals at the risk of
extinction. Many poachers hunt animals for food or to sell as raw materials for some products.
For example, species like the Amazon River turtle and the Amazon Manatee are on the brink of
extinction due to poaching (Peres, Gardner, Barlow, Zuanon, Michalski, Lees & Feeley, 2010).
Reports indicate that at the Brazilian Amazon alone, the harvest of wildlife claims the lives of
close to 23.5 million birds, mammals, and reptiles (Peres et al., 2010). Additionally, in Africa
apes and other animals are killed for bushmeat that is sold by the roadside.
Excessive poaching has caused damage to the ecosystem of the rainforest by eliminating
species that are key to the functioning of the system. Losing one single species could mean the
extinction of several other species. It is reported that the Sumatran elephants could become
extinct in the next fifty years due to the increasing rate at which they are poached for ivory.
Animals are sometimes very critical in the transportation of seeds and their extinction could