DANGEROUS DESTRUCTION OF FORESTS

Part- II

(Continued from 19.10.2020)

Most of the tree species are confined within ten countries, namely Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Venezuela, China, Peru, Ecuador, Mexico and Madagascar. About 3,91,000 species of vascular plants are known to science of which about 94 per cent are flowering plants. 21 per cent of these are likely threatened by extinction. Close to 70,000 vertebrae species are known and described. Of these, forests provide habitats for almost 5,000 amphibian species (80% of all known species) close to 7,500 bird species (75% of all birds) and more than 3,700 different mammals (68% of all species) Some 1.3 million species of invertebrates have described. It is estimated to go up to 5 million to 10 million species and the vast majority live in forests. Soil microbes, forest-  dependent pollinators and saproxylic beetles play very important parts in maintaining the biodiversity and ecosystem functions of forests.

Much of human society today has at least some interaction with forests and the biodiversity they contain and all people benefit from the functions provided by components of this biodiversity in the carbon, water and nutrient cycle and through the links with food production. In both low and high income countries and in all climatic zones, communities that live within forests rely the most directly on forest biodiversity for their lives and livelihoods, using products derived from forest resources for food, fodder, shelter, energy,  medicine and income generation. Forests provide more than 86 million green jobs and support the livelihood of many more. An estimated 880 million people spend part of their time collecting fuel wood or producing charcoal. Of the people living in extreme poverty, over 90 per cent are dependent on forests for at least part of their livelihoods.

................ to be continued.

(Indebted to the report of Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations)

KV George

kvgeorgein@gmail.com