Deforestation in Rondonia, Brazil

According to Wright and Muller-Landau (2006), the widespread destruction of the most biodiverse habitats, in particular tropical forests like the Amazon rainforest, is widely thought to be precipitating a global extinction crises. Indeed, the loss of 90 percent of an area originally covered by forest is expected to lead directly to the extinction of about 50 percent of the species endemic to that habitat. S. J. Wright and H. C. Muller-Landau, « The Future of Tropical Forest Species », Biotropica, vol. 38, no 3, p. 287‑301, mai 2006.

Burgeoning human populations are responsible for deforestation throughout the tropics. In particular, slash and burn agriculturalists are believed to have caused two-thirds of past tropical deforestation (Wright and H. C. Muller-Landau, 2006).

However, Wright and Muller-Landau noted that " Current human demographic trends—slowing population growth and intense urbanization —give reason to hope that deforestation will slow, forest regeneration through secondary succession will accelerate, and a mass extinction of tropical forest species can be avoided. "