Chapter 2: State and Trends
envelopes; even so, up to 40 per cent of the studied species restricted to mountain habitats could be exposed to local extinctions due to climate change (Figure 2.5.4).
It is important to take into account that these analyses do not consider synergistic effects with other pressures such as deforestation or overharvesting, making the situation even worse. For example, a similar analysis of the effects of climate change on the distribution of 25 highly invasive plant species in Colombia (Bello et al. 2014), showed that the potential area of distribution of 66 per cent of these species will increase under all the climatic scenarios examined for 2050, adding more stress to native species and making it more difficult to restore degraded habitats.
Overharvesting
The world´s consumption of fish products grew by about 94 per cent between 1960 and 2012 (FAO 2014a). This demand has been concentrated in high-income countries, mainly Europe and Asia (Salas et al. 2011). LAC has responded to this demand and has become a leading exporter of fish and other fisheries products (FAO 2014a). The region accounts for approximately 24 per cent of global fisheries catch (Pérez- Ramírez et al. 2015). In 2012, Peru, Chile and Mexico were among the 18 largest producers of marine capture fisheries in the world with about 11 per cent of the total (FAO 2014a).
Wood extraction Logging is an important economic activity in the region that places pressure on forested ecosystems (Finer et al. 2014). Data from FAO indicate that 504 million m3
of roundwood was produced in LAC in 2014 (FAO 2015c)
and this volume has been growing over the last decade. Certain species of global importance, such as mahogany, are also being lost from natural systems across the region at alarming rates (WWF 2015a).
No estimates for the hunting of wild animals are available for LAC as a whole. Bushmeat provides a crucial source of protein where other protein alternatives are scarce or expensive (Swamy & Vasquez Pinedo 2014). In South America has
been estimated that between 5 to 8 million people regularly rely on bushmeat as a protein source (Rushton et al. 2005), both in rural as in urban areas (for example, in the borders of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, see van Vliet et al. 2015). Besides the ecological impacts that bushmeat overharvesting can have in natural populations, also there are serious health concerns because a high percentage of emerging infectious diseases in humans come from the consumption of wildlife (Cawthorn and Hoffman 2014).
Invasive Alien Species
Invasive alien species (IAS) are considered one of the most important threats to biodiversity worldwide, and islands are especially vulnerable to their effects (CBD 2016). In LAC, factors responsible for the introduction of invasive species (such as travel, trade, and tourism) are growing in parallel with their contribution to national economies. Climate change could facilitate future invasions and establishment of IAS in many ecosystems across the entire region. By affecting the biodiversity of the region, alien invasive species can have knock-on effects on issues such as human health, food security and local and national economies (CBD 2016).
Emerging infectious diseases
Emerging infectious diseases have been recently recognised as a serious threat to biodiversity. Because of its effects on regional fauna, the most relevant is chytridiomycosis caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which affects amphibians. In 2008, it was estimated that chytridiomycosis caused declines in 42 per cent of global amphibian species and threatened as many as 32 per cent with extinction (IUCN 2008). Chytridiomycosis has been related to infections in amphibian species across the entire LAC region, which is a very serious problem given the high diversity and level of endemism of this group in LAC (Swei et al. 2011; Weldon et al. 2004).
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