Why are habitats such as the tropical rainforests so important?
The loss of key habitats particularly tropical forest, is a pressing problem. Deforestation is happening at such a rate that most of Costa Rica's (and the world's) tropical forest will have disappeared by the first decades of the 21st century; loss of other habitats is a less publicized but equally pressing concern. With this in mind, two important questions arise: Why are habitats such as the tropical rainforests so important, and what can be done to prevent their loss?
Much of Costa Rica's remaining natural vegetation is tropical forest, and there are many reasons why this particular habitat is important. Almost a million of the known species on earth live in tropical rainforests; scientists predict that most of the millions more plants and animal species that await discovery will be found in the world's remaining rainforests, which have the greatest biodiversity of all the habitats known on the planet. This incredible array of plants and animals cannot exist unless the rainforest that they inhabit is protected - deforestation will result not only in loss of the rainforest but in countless extinctions as well.
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Pictures by Angela and Jörn Malek. The team of 1-CostaRicaLink wishes you the best of times in our little paradise called Costa Rica.
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