By Alice Castelani and Daniel Vidal Pérez |
A study published by Brazilian researchers in the journal Science Advances pointed out that countries with the highest level of development excessively demand biodiversity to sustain their consumption pattern. The authors, inspired by the idea of virtual water, evaluated pollination flow as an indicator of dependence among countries, concerning ecosystem services based on biodiversity. This approach offers a tool to visualize the flow of agricultural products in the international market. The result of this assessment revealed the existence of a global dependency located in the developing countries. In Brazil’s case, the pollination services are, in general, directed towards the United States and Europe.
Impacts on Defense and Security: This study pointed to the urgency of creating biodiversity sustainability mechanisms, since it is highly important to support development patterns. Additionally, the results of this research show the urgency of developing countries, as in the case of Brazil, to create a biodefense strategy to protect biodiversity.
Source: SILVA, Felipe D. S. et al. Virtual pollination trade uncovers global dependence on biodiversity of developing countries. Science Advances, v. 7, nº 11, 03/2021. Available at: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/11/eabe6636.