reports have found land use change will be the biggest driving factor in biodiversity loss in the tropics with co2 concentration barely following behind. for costa rica, it is found to be the same case with traditional cacao agroforestry systems being replaced for more lucrative and economically sustainable cash crops such as plantains or bananas. additionally, the abandonment of traditional shade tree practices within the remaining cacao systems are devastating to local forest communities.

traditional shade tree practices are including native tree species creating a forest canopy that can sustain life while producing economic income for the land owner. without biodiversity, ecosystems will collapse due to holes being formed within the niche systems of this system.

in this video, learn about biodiversity through the eyes of a tree in costa rica, where it witnesses the impact of humans on its environment — from canopy loss to animal migration.

editor’s note: story four in our stories of alaska series focuses on the timber industry — one part of the resource-rich puzzle that is alaska — and the yearslong debate over the “roadless area conservation” rule, put in place by the usda in 2001, which disallows construction of any new road system in national forest land and effectively makes it impossible for companies to extract new resources that aren’t already accessible. click the story below to read more about the arguments for and against exemptions to the rule for alaska.