Almost half of Colombia’s protected ecosystems in danger of extinction

[Judi Lynn]

Almost half of Colombia’s protected ecosystems in danger of extinction

written by Adriaan Alsema July 1, 2016

Almost half of Colombia’s protected ecosystems is in danger of extinction and have been put on a so-called “Ecosystem Red List.”

The list was presented Thursday by the Humboldt Institute, which has studied the state of Colombia’s biodiversity and concluded that of the 80 protected ecosystems, 35 are either “in danger” or “in critical” of extinction.

The situation is most critical in Colombia’s Caribbean and Andes regions, according to the environmental organization. However, the situation in the Amazon and Llanos regions could be worse as, according to Humboldt director Brigitte Baptiste, parts of these regions have been excluded from field investigations because of the ongoing armed conflict.

Expanding agriculture is the primary culprit of Colombia’s increased pressure on its ecosystems, according to Baptiste.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/almost-half-colombias-protected-ecosystems-danger-extinction/

[Jim Lane]

1. Analyzing ecosystems rather than individual species is an improvement.

One of the benefits of our Endangered Species Act is that protecting one species can function as a proxy for protecting an ecosystem.