Updates

10 Reasons To Thank Nature

Forests globally are removing over 11 billion tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere each year, effectively sponging up nearly 1/3 of our carbon pollution and preventing the global climate from being at least 0.5 a degree Celsius warmer than it is today.

Tropical forests also cool the planet by using solar radiation to drive transpiration of water from their leaves, contributing to rainfall that sustains not only those forests but also downwind agriculture and hydroelectricity generation. Without their tropical forests, equatorial regions will dry out and heat up and some of them could become uninhabitable.

If we stop deforesting and degrading forests, and restore natural ecosystems in priority regions, forests can do even more to reduce climate change and provide both people and wildlife with the resources we’ll need to adapt to changes we’re already experiencing.

At a time when close to a billion people on Earth lack access to clean water, watersheds supply water for drinking, agriculture and manufacturing, and recreation, while providing habitat for wildlife and plants. Wetlands and forests play a critical role in filtering water, while plants remove dangerous levels of nitrogen and phosphorus found in fertilizer runoff.

Species such as oysters both filter water and provide natural resilience to storms. Adult oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day and oyster reefs provide a cushion against large waves and rising tides. In so doing, they reduce flooding and prevent shoreline erosion. Other coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves likewise protect against storm surges and growing sea level rise.

The World Health Organization finds that 75 percent of new infectious diseases in the past decade are zoonotic, or transmitted between animals and people. That trend has drawn attention to the degradation of natural landscapes for roads, infrastructure, development, and through commercial wildlife trade for human consumption—exposing us to previously contained pathogens for which we have no natural immunity.

Healthy landscapes and seascapes play a pivotal role in supporting the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Roughly 60 million people are engaged in fishing-related jobs, while the ecotourism industry is valued at more than $200 billion dollars by varying estimates. Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities rely on nature for income-generating activities from fishing, wool production, honey harvesting and other sustainable uses.

A wide range of species that includes both insects--bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles and moths—and bats pollinate the crops that we all depend upon for our survival. Close to 90 percent of all flowering plants and 75 percent of the world's food crops rely on these pollinators entirely or in part, at a time when they face growing threats like colony collapse disorder.

Close to half of the approved drugs during the last 30 years were derived either directly or indirectly from natural products. Paclitaxel, isolated from yew tree bark, is one of the WHO’s “Essential Medicines” for cancer treatment. Exenatide, a synthesized version of a compound in Gila monster saliva, helps some two million people with type 2 diabetes.

Growing research suggests a close relationship between time spent in nature and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. Nature sounds can lower blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol, thus reducing the body's fight-or-flight response. The effect appears to be especially strong for those who have suffered loss, as so many have this year due to the COVID pandemic.