83 procent af Madagaskars 192 palmearter er truet af udryddelse. Det vil få fatale konsekvenser, da palmen er en væsentlig kilde til mad, medicin og byggematerialer på den store ø i Det indiske Ocean.
JOHANNESBURG, 19 October 2012 (IRIN): William Baker, chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) palm specialist group, told IRIN that palm hearts are a “substantial” source of nutrition throughout the world.
“For people living in remote, rural communities, palm hearts are a highly valued food source – and they are free. I don’t know if there is a connection to declining sources of food, but in remote areas with inadequate (utilstrækkelig) soils or agricultural practices, palm hearts are an important supplement,” he said.
Palm hearts are low in fat, provide fibre, and are a source of protein, potassium, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc.
Habitat loss
”So we are in a nasty feedback cycle of people threatening palms, and diminishing (formindsket udbredelse) palms threatening livelihoods”
“Our perception is that palm utilization (anvendelse) is now unsustainable for many species, and this is compounded by ongoing habitat loss due primarily to slash-and-burn agriculture (svedjebrug)”, Baker said, adding:
“Whereas once palm exploitation must have been sustainable, the balance has now tipped as pressure increases on a decreasing area of habitat and remaining palms. So we are in a nasty feedback cycle of people threatening palms, and diminishing palms threatening livelihoods.”
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96582/MADAGASCAR-Possible-palm-extinction-threatens-livelihoods
Begynd fra: “Threatened and endangered”
