{"id":26107,"date":"2025-05-14T14:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T17:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sitawi.net\/?p=26107"},"modified":"2026-01-23T11:44:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:44:44","slug":"biodiversidade-mudancas-climaticas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sitawi.net\/en\/biodiversidade-mudancas-climaticas\/","title":{"rendered":"Why uniting the debates on biodiversity and climate change is urgent to save the planet\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Science has demonstrated, with increasing clarity, that loss of biodiversity<\/strong> and the climate change<\/strong><\/a> not only share common causes<\/strong>, but also if mutually reinforce<\/strong>. Despite this indisputable correlation, the formulation of public policies<\/strong> for the climate and the environment still tend to occur in separate spheres \u2014 which compromises the effectiveness of global responses to socio-environmental challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the urgency of the climate and ecological crisis<\/strong>, it is essential integrate these two agendas<\/strong>. Understanding your synergies is the first step to accelerating sustainable solutions<\/strong> and promote the development<\/strong> based on ecosystem resilience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why biodiversity is essential to tackling climate change<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

THE biodiversity<\/strong> \u2014 the immense variety of life on Earth, from microorganisms to large ecosystems \u2014 is the foundation of the natural systems that sustain humanity<\/strong>. After 4.5 billion years of evolution, this natural heritage has been rapidly impacted by human action<\/strong>. And it is precisely on him that we depend to guarantee food safety<\/strong>, access to water<\/strong>, medicines<\/strong>, climate stability<\/strong> and economic growth<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the UN, the biodiversity<\/strong> represents \u201cthe most powerful natural defense against climate change<\/a>\u201d. This is due to the critical role of ecosystems<\/strong> as natural carbon sinks<\/strong>. Forests, oceans, soils, peatlands, mangroves and seagrasses absorb more than half of greenhouse gas emissions<\/strong> released into the atmosphere. Without this function, the effects of global warming<\/strong> would be even more severe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE nature<\/strong> offers what we call nature-based solutions<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 actions that take advantage of ecological processes to mitigate and adapt to climate change<\/a><\/strong>. According to the UN, peatlands \u2013 wetlands such as marshes and swamps \u2013, for example, occupy only 3% of the Earth's surface, but store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests. Mangroves and seagrasses sequester carbon at rates up to four times higher than terrestrial forests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But just as importantly, forests still cover more than 30% of the Earth, and protecting and restoring these ecosystems could provide up to a third of the emissions reductions needed over the next decade. But this capacity is under threat. Habitat destruction has transformed once-balanced ecosystems, such as the Amazon, from major carbon sinks into sources of emissions. Approximately 85% of the planet\u2019s wetlands have already disappeared\u2014further compromising natural climate balancing mechanisms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change: a threat to biodiversity<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To the climate change<\/strong> They play an increasingly important role in decline in biodiversity<\/strong>. They altered marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. They caused the loss of local species, increased the number of diseases, and triggered mass mortality of plants and animals, resulting in the first climate-driven extinctions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The projections are alarming. According to the IPCC, by 2100 the Earth's temperature can rise up to 4 \u00b0C<\/a>, which would result in the extinction of countless species, especially reptiles and amphibians. Among lizards alone, it is estimated that 39% of populations and 20% of species could disappear by 2080. Many species simply do not have enough time or adaptation mechanisms to survive rapid and intense climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the impacts on ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity<\/strong> This poses direct risks to human health, as the fragmentation of natural habitats increases the chances of the emergence and spread of diseases. Degraded natural systems become less effective in providing essential services such as pollination, disease regulation, and the supply of water and food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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