Anthropoids, close relatives of the human, can disappear completely from the face of the Earth, the largest expert on preservation of a biodiversity, Richard Leakey has declared in London at speech in the Royal geographical society. About it informs newspapers Guardian.
Leakey – the former chief of a protection service of the wild nature of Kenya, and nowadays – the head of organization Wildlife Direct.
On his data, monkeys are under threat because of a combination of hunting, illnesses and decrease of forests. As approves Leakey, attempts of struggle against global warming by use of bio-fuel, can worsen position of monkeys as cultivation of raw material for bio-fuel can lead to the further cutting down of forests in which there live monkeys.
About 80 percent of areas of dwelling of orangutans in Southeast Asia became unsuitable for a life of monkeys for last 20 years. The reason of it became need of the human for the new areas for landing palm trees which are used for making of the oil for the western market. The increase in need for alternative fuel can become the factor causing disappearance of 50 thousand of animals of this kind which has remained in the wild nature in the next decades.
Activity of the human is the reason of destruction of millions gorillas, a chimpanzees and bonobo monkeys (Pan paniscus) worldwide.
Leakey has called politicians to develop new international agreements under the control over emission of hotbed gases in which there was a place to struggle for preservation of forest in Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America.
His opinion, struggle with deforestation – i.e. decrease in the area of woods – is not less effective way of opposition to global warming, than transition to bio-fuel.
Destruction of woods – the reason of a quarter of the emissions of hotbed gases connected with the mankind. It is on the second place after increase of energy in the list of the reasons of pollution of an atmosphere.
By expert estimations, preservation of forests – one of the cheapest ways of the control of a climate. Leakey considers, that the countries of the world should help to the poorest tropical countries to keep in the territory untouched ” green lungs of the Earth “.
Except that, he has named oxymoron concept of ecotourism, having characterized it as attempt ” to make money “.