How wildlife help combat climate change

The document explains the symbiotic relationship between wildlife conservation and climate action, detailing how various species act as carbon sinks or maintain habitats that capture carbon. It highlights the roles of tigers, elephants, and tapirs on land, and sea otters, whales, and oysters in the ocean, asserting that protecting biodiversity is a critical strategy for meeting climate goals.

• Terrestrial animals maintain habitats that sequester carbon; for example, forests in India with tiger populations have three times the carbon density of those where tigers were eradicated, as tigers deter human encroachment and regulate herbivore populations to maintain forest health.
• African rainforests rely on elephants to store carbon by removing invasive plants to allow large trees to grow; without them, Africa would lose the storage of approximately three billion tons of carbon, with each elephant providing over $1.75 million in carbon-capturing services.
• Tapirs facilitate the restoration of degraded forests in the Amazon by preferentially roaming burned or cut-down lands and reseeding them through their waste.
• Marine wildlife contributes to carbon sequestration and coastal protection: sea otters protect carbon-sequestering kelp by eating sea urchins; whales sequester an average of 33 tons of carbon over their lifetime and fertilize phytoplankton, which capture about 40% of global carbon dioxide; and oyster reefs buffer storms and prevent coastal erosion.

APA

WWF International (n.d.). How wildlife help combat climate change. https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/how-wildlife-help-combat-climate-change/

Chicago

WWF International. How wildlife help combat climate change. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/how-wildlife-help-combat-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=How wildlife help combat climate change |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/how-wildlife-help-combat-climate-change/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndhow, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{How wildlife help combat climate change}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/resources/explainers/how-wildlife-help-combat-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }