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External threats continue to play havoc with biodiversity in rainforests--even in "protected areas."
In a paper released in Nature, more than 200 researchers argue that while most tropical reserves were vital to the protection of critical habitat, approximately half were struggling to maintain their original biodiversity. As lead author William Laurance explains in this short video introduction, external threats cannot be ignored and areas need to be better protected.
"The rapid disruption of tropical forests probably imperils global biodiversity more than any other contemporary phenomenon. With deforestation advancing quickly, protected areas are increasingly becoming final refuges for threatened species and natural ecosystem processes," the researchers noted in their article.