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Projected Habitat Loss and Climate Change (Image 2)
Projected Habitat Loss and Climate Change (Image 2)
A Sifaka Lemur in Madagascar, one of the areas where projected habitat loss and climate change are expected to drive the need for future reserves to prevent biodiversity loss.
A research study, funded by the National Science Foundation and headed by Walter Jetz, assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of California, San Diego, found that many of the regions that face the greatest habitat change, in relation to the amount of land currently protected--like Indonesia and Madagascar--are in globally threatened and endemic species-rich, developing tropical nations that have the fewest resources for conservation. On the other hand, many of the temperate regions of the planet that already have an expansive network of reserves are in countries like Austria, Germany and Switzerland, with the greatest financial resources for conservation efforts, but comparatively less biodiversity under threat.
Jetz and his research team created a series of global maps that reflect these findings and are intended to provide a guide for conservationists to the areas of our planet where conservation investments would have the most impact in the future, thus limiting extinctions and damage to ecosystems caused by rapid, human-driven climate change and poor land-use. To learn more, see the UC-San Diego news release, "Study Finds Future 'Battlegrounds' for Conservation Very Different to Those in Past." (Date of Image: 2007) [Image 2 of 3 related images. See Image 3.]
Credit: Walter Jetz, UCSD
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