This Giving Tuesday…
Conservation Biology Institute is launching a new initiative to support wildfire risk reduction, and we need your help.
We have partnered with the Colombian National Firefighting Academy, to establish a Latin American Center for Biological Conservation and Forest Operations. The center will develop novel wildfire research, consolidate existing scientific knowledge and data, educate community members on wildfire risk reduction and response, as well as train firefighters in the latest wildfire management approaches.
While it may seem far away to you, the Amazon Basin is a critical part of the health of the entire planet. Not only is it the most biodiverse region on earth, but it also is one of the planet’s largest carbon sinks, storing 150B metric tons of carbon, equivalent to 10 years worth of global fossil fuel emissions. Even if the world reduced human-caused emissions enough to get on track to fulfill the Paris Climate Agreement, keeping global warming below a 1.5-degree-C increase from pre-industrial levels, a sudden loss of the Amazon and its stored carbon would put that target out of reach.
Facing unprecedented severity and frequency of fires, in ecosystems that are not fire-adapted, biodiversity in the Latin American and Caribbean region has taken a huge hit. Scientists estimate that as many as 17 million vertebrates died in the 2020 Brazil paramos fires, and the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report estimates that there has been a 95% decline in the size of monitored wildlife populations in the LAC region over just 50 years (1970-2020).
The value of cooperation among researchers, fire management agencies, community leaders, policymakers, and industry in developing and adopting science-based approaches is more important than ever in increasing wildfire resiliency for both communities and nature. Please contribute today. Those who donate $50 or more will have the opportunity to attend a series of exclusive presentations led by our top scientists and researchers! Donors of $100 or more will also receive recognition on our website (optional)!