Feature photo by markgee6 Photo by leonardlow
From mountaintops to sea-floors, the world’s spectacular natural wonders are disappearing. Top threats include global climate change, deforestation, invasive species, and population growth. These following ten represent some of the most ecologically sensitive areas.
1. Great Barrier Reef
Flourishing with more than 1,500 fish species and the endangered hawksbill turtle, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef ecosystem in the world. But the Blue Outback is fading to white due to coral bleaching. Increasing carbon dioxide and temperature levels are projected to render the reef functionally extinct by 2030.
Photo by warrenh
2. Amazon Rain Forest
Teeming with millions of species and one-fifth of the world’s fresh water, the Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. However, global warming and deforestation are reversing the forest’s role as a carbon sink, converting 30-60% of the rainforest into dry savannah. Projections show the forest could disappear completely by 2050.
3. Yangtze Region
Shrouded in the dense mist of the forests of the Yangtze region of China is the endangered giant panda. But downtown, a rapidly developing economy and commercial logging industry cause flooding and habitat destruction. Nearby, the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in history, is destroying the Yangtze River ecosystem.
4. The Everglades
The shrubby wetlands of the Everglades are the only place in the world to find the endangered Florida panther. But the Everglades cover only half the land area they used to. This “River of Grass” has been carved into a grid of canals and crops to feed and water the encroaching cities.
Photo by bobjagendorf
5. Cape Floral Region
Blooming with 6,200 endemic plant species, the Cape Floral Region of South Africa encompasses one of world’s six floral kingdoms. Global warming is projected to increase mean annual temperatures by 1.8 ºC by 2050 which is bad news for the 1,400 species that are critically endangered and sensitive to small changes in climate.
6. Congo Basin
Chopped into logs and tilled into agriculture, the Congo Basin rainforest is projected to disappear by 30% by 2030. As the human population grew over the past decades, the endangered mountain gorilla population dwindled to 700 individuals. As the world’s second largest tropical rainforest, the basin regulates climate and water flow.
7. Madagascar
Because Madagascar broke off from Gondwanaland 160 million years ago, its species evolved in isolation and occur nowhere else on earth. Deforestation, agriculture, and erosion may cause lemurs and chameleons to go extinct before the end of the century. The aye-aye, silky sifaka and Goodman’s mouse lemur are considered three of the most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered animals.
Photo by plizzba
8. Mt. Kilimanjaro Glacier
With its conspicuous snowy peak standing out over the surrounding savannah, Mount Kilimanjaro is topped with a glacier uniquely situated near the Equator. Persisting for over 10,000 years, the glacier suddenly retreated by 82% since 1912 due to global warming. At current rates, the glacier could melt completely by 2020.
Photo by tambako
9. The Phillipines
With only 7% of its original forest still standing, the Philippines is one of the world’s most biologically-rich yet most endangered areas. The remaining forests are disappearing at a rate of 1186 acres per day. Illegal logging is a $700 million per year business, resulting in erosion and flooding, as evidenced by the 2004 landslides.
10. The Himalayan Glaciers
The Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever at a rate of 33-49 feet per year due to global warming. Melting glaciers could flood India, China, and Nepal and destroy habitat for the endangered snow leopard. Unpredictable weather is creating dangerous conditions for climbers of Mt. Everest.
Photo by mckaysavage
All over the world, wildlife is being replaced by cars and rivers are being redesigned by dams and canals. Many natural wonders may fall victim to concrete jungles and flooded cities within 50 years.
If our generation does not act, the next generation may never see these treasures. Conservation efforts must engage local communities and governments as well as the global community.
To help, contribute to the local economy rather than a foreign-owned resort when traveling to sensitive areas.
Community Connection!
You can connect with hundreds of grassroots organizations on Matador!
A list of NGOs focusing on Environmental and Conservation issues can be found here.
To explore opportunities with organizations working to stop natural wonders from disappearing completely, visit Amazon Conservation Association, and Flor de La Amazonia in the Amazon Basin and ReefDoctor in Madagascar.
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13 Comments... join the discussion!
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They say the glaciers on Kili will be gone in 5 years..
Then there’s the glaciers down in patagonia…
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sad to see those Glaciers are melting
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sad to see those Glaciers are melting
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But travelling is one of the worst ways to encourage destruction of the environment. You say to support local economies, but you want to do that as a traveller. That encourages their economies to cater to tourists. If people didn't travel so much, they wouldn't use airplanes and cars as much and then the problems with the environment would be less.
If those problems really exist. I believe the sun is causing global warming. I read in National Geographic that Mars is also heating up. I think the earth's climates have ALWAYS been changing, regardless of man.
There's no reason why we can't plant the trees we use for wood. Plant them first and then cut them down and replant them, instead of going after rainforests.
Liberals put animals before man. They say man is an animal too but he's not as important as endangered panthers and bears, or plants.
Some animals flourish in the heating weather. The earth heats up and some animals die off while others respond positively. In general humans prefer warm weather.
Who cares if some mountain loses its snow? Does that mean we need to worsen the economy, slow down the progress of technology and civilizatoin, because a mountain is not as white at the top?
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But travelling is one of the worst ways to encourage destruction of the environment. You say to support local economies, but you want to do that as a traveller. That encourages their economies to cater to tourists. If people didn’t travel so much, they wouldn’t use airplanes and cars as much and then the problems with the environment would be less.
If those problems really exist. I believe the sun is causing global warming. I read in National Geographic that Mars is also heating up. I think the earth’s climates have ALWAYS been changing, regardless of man.
There’s no reason why we can’t plant the trees we use for wood. Plant them first and then cut them down and replant them, instead of going after rainforests.
Liberals put animals before man. They say man is an animal too but he’s not as important as endangered panthers and bears, or plants.
Some animals flourish in the heating weather. The earth heats up and some animals die off while others respond positively. In general humans prefer warm weather.
Who cares if some mountain loses its snow? Does that mean we need to worsen the economy, slow down the progress of technology and civilizatoin, because a mountain is not as white at the top?
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#8 is just a myth circulated by the global warming crowd.
According to Nature's Betsy Mason, "Although it's tempting to blame the (Kilimanjaro) ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain's foothills is the more likely culprit."
Forests at the base of Kilimanjaro have been steadily disappearing for decades. "Without the forests' humidity," Mason reports, "previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine."
"Why has [the Kilimanjaro ice cap] been melting so relentlessly?" asked climatologist John Daly. "The greenhouse industry say 'global warming,' but then they would say that, wouldn't they?
"The only problem with that knee-jerk explanation is that there has been no measurable atmospheric warming in the region of Kilimanjaro," noted Daly. "Satellites have been measuring temperature since 1979 in the free troposphere between 1,000 and 8,000 meters altitude, and they show no tropospheric warming in that area. None."
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seems to me that even the most ambitious global warming initiatives, if adopted, would be far too late for these places….way too little, way too late.
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#8 is just a myth circulated by the global warming crowd.
According to Nature’s Betsy Mason, “Although it’s tempting to blame the (Kilimanjaro) ice loss on global warming, researchers think that deforestation of the mountain’s foothills is the more likely culprit.”
Forests at the base of Kilimanjaro have been steadily disappearing for decades. “Without the forests’ humidity,” Mason reports, “previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. No longer replenished with water, the ice is evaporating in the strong equatorial sunshine.”
“Why has [the Kilimanjaro ice cap] been melting so relentlessly?” asked climatologist John Daly. “The greenhouse industry say ‘global warming,’ but then they would say that, wouldn’t they?
“The only problem with that knee-jerk explanation is that there has been no measurable atmospheric warming in the region of Kilimanjaro,” noted Daly. “Satellites have been measuring temperature since 1979 in the free troposphere between 1,000 and 8,000 meters altitude, and they show no tropospheric warming in that area. None.”
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The earths climate HAS always been changing, however, from what I understand, in the past the changes were more gradual which allowed for species to adapt to the changes and persist. Interesting point in your last paragraph.
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So sad! I'm from South Africa and have a profound respect for the cape flora. Our tour operator is trying to push alternative travel for travelers! Try biking instead of busing, pretty please?
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Mm, who cares if adventures we enjoy disappear? I care. I think someone who's not had a chance to see these wonders cares. Have you seen them?
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The evolution of the world and all the plants and animals in it, INCLUDING HUMANS, is the result of cause and effect. All life on this earth and chaos out in the universe is brought about by one thing affecting another, however big or small. If you don't understand that everything is connected than I can understand why you might make such a senseless, hollow argument. Instead of saying "who cares", why don't you investigate your own rhetorical questions, keeping an open mind while doing so. I think you'll find reason's why we can't plant our own trees for wood in balance with the rate we're cutting them. And yes, in the history of the earth, the climate has changed, but over long periods of time, not over the course of one hundred years or less. You can go ahead and draw your own conclusions thinking whatever it is that helps you sleep at night, but in the morning, two plus two still equals four.
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