Who doesn’t want to vacation in the tropics? Beautiful sandy beaches. Warm sunshine most of the year. And incredible wildlife to view. However, vacationing and enjoying the beauty of the tropics isn’t enough. A lot of the wildlife and biodiversity within the tropics is struggling due to habitat loss, human intervention, and pollution. To celebrate the Tropics and bring awareness to the problems this area of the earth faces, the United Nations General Assembly established the International Day of the Tropics.
What is the International Day of the Tropics?
International Day of the Tropics is relatively new. On June 14, 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/267. This resolution specifically declared that June 29th was to be the International Day of the Tropics.
What Is the Tropics?
The Tropics is a specific area on Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. They are roughly in the middle of the globe surrounding the equator. This region receives sun that shines overhead, resulting in higher solar energy and overall temperatures.
What Countries are in the Tropics?
- Mexico
- The Bahamas
- Fiji
- Puerto Rico
- French Polynesia
- Colombia
- Malaysia
- Indonesia
- Argentina
- Chile
- China
- India
- Yemen
- United Arab Emirates
Issues The Tropics Are Facing
Like most regions of the world, the Tropics are suffering. This is why the International Day of the Tropics was created. Click through for a few common problems arising in the Tropics.
Logging
We need trees. The more we cut down trees in the Tropics, the more animals and plants lose their native homes. Logging is a leading cause of deforestation because of how destructive the process is. This wasn’t always the case, but as populations have grown in tropical areas, the need/want for wood has increased, pushing a burden onto the land.
Climate Change
Climate change is especially affecting the Tropics. As temperatures rise all over the globe, extreme weather is more likely even in sub-tropical climates. This has led to coral bleaching, long droughts, and more intense storms, including hurricanes. Hurricanes move slower and form more frequently.
Urbanization
Last but not least is urbanization, which involves a lot of moving parts. The more people who move to an area and build, the faster urbanization grows. Rapid population growth might be good for the economy, but not so much for the Earth. Quick growth increases temperatures and typically leads to pollution from cars and factories as businesses move to the area.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Victor1153 / Shutterstock.com.