VIDEO: Why it’s time time to protect biodiversity – nature’s safety net

By Michelle Kovacevic

Biodiversity provides a safety net for humans and wildlife.

For many communities, their forest is like a supermarket. It provides food, water and medicine, especially in times of conflict or climatic change.

The more diverse their surrounding environment, the more they have to fall back on.

But climate change is having an increasingly negative impact of biodiversity; driving plant and animal species further north, causing habitat loss and often pushing humans and wildlife into direct conflict.

Terry Sunderland from the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) explains the relationship between biodiversity and climate change.

Michelle Kovacevic is a writer for the Forests News blog at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

CIFOR is a nonprofit, global facility dedicated to advancing human wellbeing, environmental conservation and equity. Their research and expert analysis helps policy makers and practitioners shape effective policy, improve the management of tropical forests and address the needs and perspectives of people who depend on forests for their livelihoods.

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