Ten most valuable natural resources in the world on the way to loss
By Amila Khan
From the Amazon to the Dead Sea, some natural resources and wonders are now in danger of being lost due to overcrowding, climate change, or pollution. Details of ten such natural resources are highlighted.
The Amazon rainforest, known as the ‘lungs’ of the world, is being ravaged by disaster.
The Amazon rainforest or evergreen forest covers about 7,900 square miles, at least five times larger than London’s entire city. Spread across nine countries in South America, this tropical rainforest is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. It is also the world’s largest carbon-absorbing forest.
The Amazon rainforest in Brazil’s Amazon River Basin has become the most desolate in the last decade.
Brazil’s Environment Minister Edson Duart has cited illegal logging as one of the reasons. The largest deforestation in the last 12 years took place in 2020, the equivalent of Haiti’s forest cover of more than 27,000 square kilometers. The killing rate of animals is also increasing. In some places, rainfall has decreased by a quarter.
The Great Barrier Reef: This wonder of the world is only for 80 years.
The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the Coral Sea off Australia’s northeast coast, comprises more than 2,900 coral reefs, 400 species of corals, 500 species of fish and sea turtles, 4,000 species of mollusks, and 900 islands. Millions of living creatures have come together to form a huge coral reef for millions of years, but the mystery of how it came to be is still a mystery.
But as the water temperature rises, the algae, which is essential for corals’ survival, is spreading at a much higher rate. Half the reef has already been lost.
Environmentalist Rowan Jacobsen announced that it had died in 2016, but many environmentalists said it is still the same as before. The world’s largest coral could die by 2100 if global temperatures continue to rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The Galapagos Islands in this wonderful Ecuador, about 1,000 km off the west coast of South America, consists of 120 islands.
It is recognized as a World Heritage Site due to its diversity of animals, Galapagos tortoises, plants, and volcanic archeology.
The evolution of some of the rarest species of animals and plants inspired Darwin and the Charles Darwin Research Center in Isla Santa Cruz.
The future of this natural heritage is also under threat due to the influx of tourists, pollution, and overfishing.
Himalayas: Glaciers are melting, severe floods are coming, and huge piles of garbage are forming.
Glaciers in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush are melting at an alarming rate as global temperatures rise.
If this momentum continues, half of this glacier will melt by 2100. The lives of 165 crore people, who are directly and indirectly dependent on it, will come down to a terrible disaster.
On the other hand, the Himalayas are gradually being covered with piles of garbage. In the last four decades, people have climbed to the top of the Himalayas more than ten thousand times. The exact number of climbers who succeeded, how many failed, or how many died on the bumpy way is unknown. However, a large amount of garbage dumped in the Himalayas and the rate at which the trash is increasing also raises fears about the Himalayas’ future.
If global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius, half of the glaciers will melt by 2100, which, if not stopped, will dramatically change the rainy season in the region. If this vast ice field melts in this way, its rocky mountains could become depleted in less than a hundred years.
Joshua Tree National Park: The Joshua tree is on its way to the end.
The curved limbs and sculptural forms of the Joshua Tree add a fantastic quality to the Joshua Tree landscape. Who knows how long the Joshua tree in California’s Joshua Tree National Park will last!
Fantastic weather extremes can be seen here, such as – snow in winter and cold weather and very hot weather in summer which is regularly above 100 degrees.
Warming is unstoppable, droughts kill Joshua seedlings before they grow up, and pollination is also facing adversity. How do Joshua trees stay in Joshua Tree National Park for so long?
Kilimanjaro: What happens if there is no ice!
Global warming is also threatening the future of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain. Kilimanjaro is one of the seven peaks of the world.
The summit consists of three volcanoes – Kibo, Mawenji, Shira, and the highest peak is Kibo, which rises 5895 meters above sea level. Mawenji and the veins have long since disappeared, and Kibo is dormant, could burst at any moment.
The ice is melting fast from the peak. Researchers say that between 1912 and 2020, 85 percent of the ice was lost in Kibo’s ice-covered volcanoes. The last major eruption took place 360,000 years ago, and it is thought to have been active 200 years ago.
Machu Picchu: One of the human-made wonders which is the trampled civilization today
The city of Machu Picchu, Peru, is human-made but extraordinarily beautiful greenery perched on a mountaintop over a valley called Urubamba, about 2,400 meters or 7,875 feet above sea level. According to history and research, almost all archaeologists believe Machu Picchu was built in 1450 during the reign of the Inca king Pachakutik (1438-1472).
Within 100 years of its formation, almost all the city people died of smallpox and were virtually abandoned. According to many, Machu Picchu was a religiously sacred place. Many think it was actually a prison built by the Inca kings for all the horrible criminals.
Only 80 km from the Inca capital, Cusco in the distance was the town of Machu Picchu. The Incas have survived numerous earthquakes over the past 400 years. By the middle of 2000, about 4 lakh tourists had visited Machu Picchu. It is currently one of the seventh wonders of the world.
At least 1.5 million tourists visit Peru’s World Heritage Site every year. This ancient structure is gradually being shaken by the vibrations created by the walking of so many people.
Maldives: sinking in the Blue Sea
Are you thinking of flying to the Maldives? If you go, you will be fascinated by the island, and you will be able to immerse the country a little in this South Asian country, which is only accessible by air, frequent flights are adversely affecting the climate.
The lowest country in the world has a height of only 2.3 meters and an average height of 1.5 meters, increasing the sea level by 3.7 centimeters every year due to warming.
Environmentalists fear that rising sea levels due to climate change will increase the risk of the entire country sinking into the sea, which could cause the island nation to disappear into the sea by the end of this century.
Lake Nicaragua: ‘Crocodiles’ coming to the canal
When the proposed Nicaragua Canal becomes the Caribbean Sea, it will be connected to the Pacific Ocean. Tiny boats could be then disappeared into Central America’s largest lake, triggering the anagona traveling of many large container vessels.
Environmentalists are apprehensive. The habitat of many sharks and karate fish, the lake’s ecosystem, which is the source of drinking water of the locals, will be gradually destroyed!
The ‘Dead Sea’ of the Middle East is shrinking and really dying.
The Dead Sea, the lowest reservoir in the world, is gradually drying up. Water comes here from the Jordan River, from which Israel and Jordan draw water. Its effect is in the Dead Sea 420 meters below sea level.
On average, the Dead Sea is going down by one meter every year.
Even last year, there were many other facilities, including accommodation for tourists, shops. Still, sinkholes are being built all over the area, due to which the whole area is going to be filled with earthenware.
Like a few thousand quicksands, many installations have gone into the sinkhole in a short time.