A biodiversidade na América Latina e no Caribe

The document assesses the critical loss of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting the 'empty forest syndrome' and the desertification of the Amazon due to gold mining. It emphasizes the vital role of ecosystem services, such as the water-regulating capacity of Andean páramos and soil organic matter for sustainable agriculture. The text argues for 'inclusive conservation' that integrates indigenous territories and traditional knowledge, noting that indigenous lands often maintain higher biodiversity. It also discusses the 'blue economy' potential of the region's marine ecosystems and the risks of 'green extractivism,' specifically how lithium mining for the global energy transition threatens Andean water resources. Finally, it examines how international trade in commodities, such as soy and leather from the Gran Chaco, drives deforestation, and advocates for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Escazú Agreement to ensure environmental justice and peace.

• 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 northwest Ecuador, over 90% of medium and large vertebrates have disappeared.
• Gold mining in the Amazon is causing 'reverse terraforming,' destroying topsoil and creating biological deserts; by 2023, an estimated 1.3 million hectares in the Amazon basin were affected.
• Andean páramos act as natural sponges critical for water security; more than half of the population in the Northern Andes, including residents of Bogotá and Quito, depend on water originating from these ecosystems.
• Soil organic matter in Latin America has decreased by an average of 5% to 15%, with more drastic losses of 40% to 75% in areas converted to intensive agriculture or livestock, such as the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazon in Brazil.
• Indigenous territories are essential for climate mitigation and biodiversity, as they often have lower deforestation rates; globally, indigenous peoples manage or have rights to over one-quarter of the Earth's land surface.
• The 'blue economy' in Latin America and the Caribbean is strategic, with the region hosting 19% of the world's marine ecoregions and 25% of global marine biodiversity.
• The global energy transition creates 'telecouplings' where the demand for lithium in the Global North causes environmental degradation in the 'lithium triangle' (Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina), including the sinking of the Salar de Atacama by one to two centimeters per year.
• International trade drives deforestation in the Gran Chaco; for example, Italy imports 25,000 tons of leather annually from the Paraguayan Chaco, and Italian companies cut approximately 30,000 hectares of quebracho forests in the Argentine Chaco each year for tannin extraction.

APA

Mastrangelo, M., Attanasio, A., & Torres, I. (n.d.). A biodiversidade na América Latina e no Caribe. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compe%CC%82ndio_Biodiversidade_2025.pdf

Chicago

Mastrangelo, Matías, Angelo Attanasio, and Irene Torres. A biodiversidade na América Latina e no Caribe. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, n.d. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compe%CC%82ndio_Biodiversidade_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mastrangelo |first1=Matías |last2=Attanasio |first2=Angelo |last3=Torres |first3=Irene |title=A biodiversidade na América Latina e no Caribe |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |url=https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compe%CC%82ndio_Biodiversidade_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mastrangelondbiodiversidade, author = {Mastrangelo, Matías and Attanasio, Angelo and Torres, Irene}, title = {{A biodiversidade na América Latina e no Caribe}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/IAI_Compe%CC%82ndio_Biodiversidade_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }