The Gr se Meet and Biological Diversity

THE CATASTROPHIC GLOBAL IMPACT of rainforest destruction on the species that inhabit tropical areas is now receiving increased attention in the media. In contrast, the slow but inexorable changes in climate that are a by-product of rainforest destruction have only recently entered the limelight. The accumulation of gases in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels and the reduced photosynthetic potential of a deforested Earth produce climatic effects that are likely to be profound. In two papers that are destined to become citation classicsl,2, Robert Peters of the World Wildlife Fund made the logical connection between the current trends towards a warmer climate and the fact that the present sites of many nature reserves may soon no longer enjoy the meteorological conditions necessary for the well-being of the species they were established to support. A conference convened by the World Wildlife Fund, held in Washington in October 1988, brought together speakers from a variety of different disciplines to discuss the potential consequences for biodiversity of the currently available predictions for climate change. This article complements two other recent reports of the conference3e4.