Biodiversidad en América Latina y el Caribe

The document examines the critical state of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting threats such as 'empty forest syndrome,' gold mining in the Amazon, and the impact of global commodity trade. It emphasizes the vital role of ecosystem services—such as water regulation in Andean páramos and soil health for agriculture—and argues for a shift from an extractivist logic to an inclusive conservation model that integrates indigenous knowledge and territorial rights. The text also explores the nexus between biodiversity and human health, the potential of a sustainable blue economy, and the risks associated with the 'green extractivism' of lithium mining for the energy transition.

• Latin America and the Caribbean have experienced a severe decline in wildlife, with a 95% decrease in wild vertebrate populations over the last 50 years according to the 2024 Living Planet Index.
• The 'empty forest syndrome' is widespread in the region, where forests appear intact but have lost most of their fauna; in the Chocó Andino of Ecuador, over 90% of medium and large vertebrates have disappeared.
• Gold mining in the Amazon is causing 'reverse terraforming,' creating biological deserts and destroying the 'topsoil' (organic layer) essential for soil fertility and water retention. By 2023, an estimated 1.3 million hectares in the Amazon basin were affected by gold mining.
• Andean páramos act as critical 'natural sponges' for water regulation; however, degradation from unplanned potato farming, overgrazing, and mining has contributed to severe water crises in cities like Bogotá and Quito.
• Soil organic matter in Latin America has decreased by an average of 5% to 15%, with drastic losses of 40% to 75% in areas converted to intensive agriculture or livestock, such as the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazon in Brazil, and the Chaco and Pampas in Argentina.
• Environmental factors contribute to between 13% and 19% of the disease burden in the region, according to the Pan American Health Organization, highlighting the need to integrate ecosystem management with public health.
• Indigenous territories are crucial for climate mitigation and biodiversity, as they often maintain higher forest integrity and lower deforestation rates than other protected areas.
• The energy transition's demand for lithium in the 'Lithium Triangle' (Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) risks causing severe environmental damage, such as the sinking of the Salar de Atacama by 1 to 2 centimeters per year and the depletion of groundwater.
• International trade drives biodiversity loss in the Gran Chaco; for example, Italian companies deforest an average of 30,000 hectares of quebracho forests in the Argentine Chaco annually to extract tannins for leather tanning.

APA

Mastrangelo, M., Attanasio, A., & Torres, I. (n.d.). Biodiversidad en América Latina y el Caribe. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compendio_Biodiversidad_2025.pdf

Chicago

Mastrangelo, Matías, Angelo Attanasio, and Irene Torres. Biodiversidad en América Latina y el Caribe. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, n.d. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compendio_Biodiversidad_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mastrangelo |first1=Matías |last2=Attanasio |first2=Angelo |last3=Torres |first3=Irene |title=Biodiversidad en América Latina y el Caribe |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |url=https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compendio_Biodiversidad_2025.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mastrangelondbiodiversidad, author = {Mastrangelo, Matías and Attanasio, Angelo and Torres, Irene}, title = {{Biodiversidad en América Latina y el Caribe}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compendio_Biodiversidad_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }