The world has heard the dour inflections of increasing global warming bleaching the Great Barrier Reef by 2030, glaciers in the Swiss Alps and Glacier National Park, and snow caps of Mt. Kilimanjaro will wane in under 40 years. We have also taken notice of Arctic ice melting that would leave the North Pole bare and Polar Bears wiped out. The immediacy of this situation prompts flocks of curious eco-tourists to travel to places that are environmentally delicate. We spotlight a few areas in danger - some of them lesser known than the rest - that can be visited conscientiously.
The Yangtze River Basin:
Being home to various exotic species like the dwarf blue sheep, giant pandas, Yangtze finless porpoises, and Siberian cranes - all this along with some 400 million people; the area is in jeopardy of losing its most unique marine and animal life by the blow of China's gigantic $24 billion Three Gorges Dam. Though it is too early to know how huge the structure's impact on the environment, the government of China has also acknowledged the destruction that maybe caused.
The reservoir has swamped villages, factories, mines and farms that add to the Yangtze River's existing polluting from agriculture, raw sewage, manufacturing and shipping. Landslides have also occurred and seismologists wonder if the pressure of water above fault lines might result in a disastrous earthquake. Landslides have also happened, and seismologists wonder if the water pressure above two fault lines might result in a devastating quake.
Ranthambore, Rajasthan:
Known as one of the best places to see tigers, Ranthambore in Rajasthan holds half of the world's population of wild tigers. With the world's population of felines falling down to as few as 3200, half of which are found in India, these far-roaming beautifully ferocious creatures may be extinct within dozens of years if extreme precautions and efforts are not undertaken. You can see that things have changed dramatically when you compare the number of tigers that lived in India in 1900 (100,000) to two centuries later. The habitats of the big cats have been reduced by a huge ninety-three percent albeit there are reserves across Asia. Most of these reserves are small and have no corridors between them. It is also said that the population of these felines reduces by one every day as they are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
The Poles:
Soaring ice bergs, Aurora Borealis, magnificent animals like penguins, polar bears and whales - the natural occurrence you find at the Poles are exceptional and inspiring. It is envisaged that eighty percent of the emperor penguin population of Antarctica will be lost and the rest endangered to extinction if global warming continues. In the Arctic, the steady loss of ice (ice has decreased three percent per decade since the 1970s) endangers the existence of polar bear. The entire ecosystems are in threat if sea ice wanes at the poles: the phytoplankton that grows under ice sheets feeds zooplankton and small crustaceans like krill, which are on the food chain for fish, seals, whales, polar bears and penguins. If studies that predict persistent global warming are true then it means, within twenty to thirty years, no ice will for in Antarctica.
Madagascar:
With more than eighty percent of its flora and fauna not found anywhere else on Earth, gratefulness to millions years of remoteness, Madagascar's forests will be gone in thirty-five years. The world's fourth biggest island that was once 120,000 square miles, and are now down to 20,000, will be gone if nothing is done to save them and the islands will take their unique inhabitants along with them.
Forest ecosystems are being ruined by logging, burning for subsistence farms, and poaching. The twenty species of lemurs that Madagascar is famous for are endangered. The game reserves found are not large enough as they take up only five percent of the island and is not neighboring, consequently failing to offer passageway for the animals to pass through. Some of Madagascar's endemic groups have never even been documented, and will probably be lost before they can be deliberated.
The Everglades:
This is the only place is where crocodiles and alligators share territory along with cypress swamps, mangroves, saw grass and pine savannahs. The fragile peat bog is at risk from pollution from farms, invasive species, and encroaching development and because 60 percent of the region's water is being diverted to nearby cities and farms, the Everglades are at the present half the size it was in 1900. Even worse is the fact that this wetland is the solitary territory of the Florida panther which stands at a population of less than hundred left in the wild. These big cats may be extinct in the next 40 years as their habitat disappears along with twenty other species like turtles, manatees, and wading birds that are endangered
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