Wilderness cuts the risk of extinction for species in half

New research on wilderness areas, including Madidi national park, is described in this MongaBay article. “Wilderness areas buffer species against the risk of extinction, reducing it by more than half, a new study shows. Places with lots of unique species and wilderness with the last remaining sections of good habitat for certain species had a more pronounced impact on extinction risk. The authors contend that safeguarding the last wild places should be a conservation priority alongside the protection and restoration of heavily impacted “hotspots.” …

“The research showed some wilderness areas, such as areas surrounding Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon, play an extraordinary role in their respective regional contexts, where their loss would drastically reduce the probability of persistence of biodiversity”