Chapter 2: State and Trends
ecosystems in LAC provides critical services to support economic development and ensure a good quality of life. Approximately one quarter of the tropical forests in the world are found in LAC, and they contribute significantly to the regulation of global climate by providing services such as carbon sequestration and climate regulation. The region also provides large areas of arable land that support agriculture to meet both regional and global food demands. The ecosystems of the region provide opportunities for other important economic and social activities such as tourism and fisheries; and watersheds continue to play an important role in providing water and energy (derived from hydroelectric means). Biodiversity is of critical importance to the many local and indigenous communities found throughout LAC, providing a source of livelihoods and in many cases, shaping their cultures and identity.
There is a need for the region to identify its most urgent data requirements and to make the most effective use of regional and international collaboration opportunities such as those offered by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Fostering greater public- private partnerships can also serve as a useful approach to support research agendas.
Mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into sectoral and cross-sectoral strategies, plans and programmes must become a top priority for the region. The recently adopted SDGs offer an opportunity to reconsider approaches and strategies; and these efforts can be supported by the wise application of important policy tools such as valuation, natural capital accounting and strategic environmental assessments.
2.5.2 Pressures Land use change
Land-use change, including degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats, remains the most important threat to biodiversity in the region (See Section 2.4). The conversion of
natural habitats to agriculture and pastureland is considered the most important land use threat to biodiversity in LAC; and the areas facing highest threat include the Atlantic coastal forests and savannah ecosystems (Magrin et al. 2014). Expansions of certain crops such as sugar cane, soybean and coffee plantations, as well as the rearing of livestock, are some of the agricultural activities that are of greatest concern. It has been reported that the rate of loss of natural ecosystems on account of agriculture has slowed in the past decade, but the total area being converted every year in LAC remains high, and is expected to continue this way given the current patterns of land use (Aguiar et al. 1996).
Particular concern for biodiversity also arises because of the patterns of urbanization seen in the region. In 2015, about 80 per cent of LAC’s population lived in urban areas, which is the highest apportionment seen in the world (UNECLAC 2015b). The majority of LAC´s urban agglomerations with more than 1 million people are in South America (43), followed by Mesoamerica (19) and the Caribbean (4) (UNDESA 2014); and many of these are sprawling over biodiversity hotspots.
Megacities in the Atlantic Forest eco-region in Brazil (for example, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), those in coastal Mesoamerica e.g. San Jose and Mexico City (CBD 2012), and urban areas in the Mediterranean-like ecosystems in Chile are growing within areas considered important for biodiversity (Miloslavich et al. 2010). To illustrate this point, light pollution in LAC (Figure 2.5.1) could serve as a useful indirect indicator of the pressure that urbanization exerts on natural environments within biodiversity hotspots.
In addition to the infringement on biodiversity hotspots, the growth of human settlements, tourism services and associated infrastructure in the region also continues to drive the transformation of coastal and marine ecosystems. Population growth in coastal areas has been rapid in LAC; between 1945 and 2014, the population in coastal cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants increased by 778 per cent (de Andres and Barragan 2015) (Table 2.5.1). In 2014, 420 cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants were settled within 100 kilometres of the coastline, some of them in marine and
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