Does deforestation affect medicine?
Around the world, thousands of key compounds derived from plants and animals are used daily to make medicines. Of the 50,000 known medicinal plants –which are the basis of more than 50% of all medications—up to a fifth are at risk of extinction at the local, national, regional or global level due to deforestation.
What is narco deforestation?
Cocaine kills forests in Central America Actually, the term narco-deforestation, created by the researchers at the Oregon State University, indicates the process of using remote forested lands by the drug barons in order to launder their profits from the drug trade.
Is deforestation a problem in Latin America?
Deforestation has become an increasing problem for many countries in South America. Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru account for over 70% of the deforestation. In each of these countries, agriculture, logging, and urbanization all play a role in deforestation.
What impact can deforestation and climate change have on medical discoveries?
Over the past two decades, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that deforestation, by triggering a complex cascade of events, creates the conditions for a range of deadly pathogens—such as Nipah and Lassa viruses, and the parasites that cause malaria and Lyme disease—to spread to people.
How do forests provide medicine?
Forests provide rich reserve of compounds that can be utilized in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Tree and plant extracts contain a variety of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols (including flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins), phytoestrogens (including lignans), stilbenes, carotenoids, sterols, etc.
What role did the United States play in Latin America during the Cold War?
In 1959, the US began a policy to keep any Communist influence out of the Western hemisphere. This led to US involvement in Latin America. They maintained control until the end of the Cold War, when US-backed rebels took it from them. Castro’s Cuban Revolution took place between 1953 and 1959.
Why did Latin Americans come America?
Recent immigration During the 20th century many Latin American immigrants came to United States fleeing the poverty, violence, and military dictatorships of Latin America. Most Latinos who immigrate to the United States are Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Salvadorans.
What is a possible solution to narco deforestation?
The authors says the solutions include de-escalating and demilitarizing the war on drugs; strengthening the position of indigenous peoples and traditional forest communities to be stewards of the remaining forest lands; and developing regional awareness of the issue.
What is the main cause of deforestation in Latin America?
Excessive deforestation has been taking place in tropical areas of Latin America for the past several decades. Among the causes of accelerated deforestation are population and income growth, extensive logging, expanding agricultural growth patterns and lagging agricultural yields.
Why is deforestation a problem in Latin America?
The destruction of the forest area is one of the biggest Latin American concerns. Because of deforestation, environmental problems such as aridity, erosion and the loss of biodiversity caused by habitat damage, have become the headaches of Latin American leaders.
Where does most deforestation occur in the world?
However, the reduction was not considerable and two years later FAO calculated that South America is the region that has lost the most forest areas in the world. This is a result of the great damage that the Amazon rainforest has suffered.
What are the causes of deforestation in Haiti?
In accordance to the Monitoring Project of the Andean Amazon (MAAP), the causes of deforestation were logging, agriculture, livestock, illegal mining, infrastructure works and illicit crops. On the other hand, Haiti has the threat of losing its native forests in a period of 10 years, due to the high rate of deforestation.
How much land has been lost in Latin America?
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) explains that Latin American and the Caribbean lost 4.7 million hectares, which corresponded to 65% of the global losses during the 2000-20005.