What impact does the American consumption have for the exporting countries’ fauna? For the first time, a global map details how exports threaten species.
The study reveals to consumers in the United States, China, Japan and the EU the impact of exported products on biodiversity that is located thousands of kilometers away.
For instance, to obtain coffee or tofu, forests were destroyed in Mato Grosso (Brazil) or Sumatra (Indonesia), aggravating the situation of endangered species.
According to this study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution journal, manufactured products, from iPhones to Ikea furniture, also contribute to the decline of wildlife.
A previous study had concluded that 30% of threatened species were so due to international trade.
The new report, which focused on nearly 7,000 endangered marine and terrestrial species, points out those countries that endanger their biodiversity because of the products they export.
Thus, consumption in the United States threatens species on the east and west coast of southern Mexico, in Central America, southern Europe, the Sahel, Southeast Asia or Canada.
To experts, it is urgent to find new solutions to the loss of biodiversity.
According to scientists, the Earth has entered a time of “mass extinction,” in which animals and plants are disappearing 1,000 times faster than some centuries ago.
The calculations in this study do not include the impact of illegal trade on wildlife, such as hunting elephants for ivory, or catching exotic birds and reptiles to sell them as pets.
Many animals and plants are protected by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Wildlife and Wild Flora (CITES), however, the illegal traffic, valued at 150,000 million dollars per year, is still very strong.