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Research Outline
Prepared for Joel K. | Delivered December 22, 2019
Loss of Biodiversity Over Time
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Goals
To gather data on environmental and species loss over the last 100 years.
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Early Findings
As per the
World Resources Institute
, the University of Maryland released updated data on the disappearance of rainforests throughout the world.
The change in forests and tree cover loss can be seen in an interactive map
here
.
The data is being recorded since 2001, so older data may not be available. As per the data, 2016 and 2017 were
the worst
in terms of loss of primary rainforests due to fires.
2018 demonstrated the
fourth-highest annual loss
since record-keeping started, including
12 million hectares
of tree cover and the disappearance of
3.6 million hectares
of primary rainforests.
Primary tropical rainforests are made up of "trees that can be hundreds or even
thousands of years old
." These rainforests play a crucial role in sustaining biodiversity.
Not to mention, these rainforests
provide habitat
for numerous animal species, which may not be able to survive without them.
Many countries are working toward preventing loss of primary rainforests. "In 2002, just two countries — Brazil and Indonesia — made up
71 percent
of tropical primary forest loss. More recent data shows that [...] Brazil and Indonesia only accounted for
46 percent
of primary rainforest loss in 2018, while countries like Colombia,
C
ô
t
e
d’
I
v
o
i
r
e
, Ghana and Democratic Republic of the Congo saw loss rates rise considerably."
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