Latin America is globally recognized as a megadiverse region, holding nearly 40% of the planet’s biological diversity and hosting six of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries. This immense natural wealth encompasses a staggering variety of life, from the Amazon rainforest to the Mesoamerican coral reefs. This intricate web of life sustains global climate regulation and water cycles. Despite this ecological importance, Latin America faces a profound environmental crisis, experiencing the fastest rate of wildlife decline globally, with monitored populations plummeting by an average of 94% since 1970. While the threats are interconnected, one challenge stands out as the most immediate and consequential force.
The Primary Driver: Habitat Loss
The most impactful and direct threat to Latin American biodiversity is the outright loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, overwhelmingly driven by human land-use change. Deforestation and the conversion of grasslands remove the physical space species need to survive, leading directly to population declines and localized extinctions. This destruction reduces large, continuous ecosystems into smaller, isolated patches, a process known as habitat fragmentation.
The Atlantic Forest of Brazil has been reduced to a scatter of remnants, with 80% of its remaining fragments measuring less than 50 hectares. This severe fragmentation dramatically reduces population viability by isolating gene pools and limiting the ability of species to find food or mates. Research shows that high degrees of fragmentation can reduce the estimated number of viable populations of forest specialist birds by as much as 84.1%.
The Chocó-Darién moist forest similarly faces high rates of primary forest loss, driven by logging and mineral extraction. When a forest is degraded, remaining fragments suffer from “edge effects,” where conditions near the perimeter alter the internal microclimate. These altered conditions impair the ecosystem’s function and reduce the quality of the remaining habitat for species adapted to deep-forest interiors.
Underlying Economic and Social Pressures
The physical destruction of habitat is a symptom of powerful economic and social forces that prioritize short-term profit and commodity expansion. The global demand for agricultural commodities, particularly soy and beef, represents the single largest economic engine for land-use change in the region. Between 2000 and 2019, the area cultivated with soybeans in South America more than doubled, significantly increasing pressure on the Brazilian Amazon.
This industrial agricultural expansion is closely tied to large-scale infrastructure projects that open up previously inaccessible regions to exploitation. Studies show that nearly 95% of Amazon deforestation occurs within 5.5 kilometers of a road or one kilometer of a river, illustrating the role of transport corridors in facilitating the logging and clearing of forests. Major projects like the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in Brazil have permanently flooded vast areas, displacing thousands of people and destroying approximately 2,875 square kilometers of forest.
Compounding these economic drivers are systemic issues of weak land governance and insecure land tenure across many Latin American countries. When land rights are poorly defined or unenforced, it creates an environment ripe for illegal land grabbing and speculative clearing, often resulting in violent conflicts over resources. Insecure property rights undermine incentives for long-term, sustainable land management and enable rapid conversion for quick financial gain.
The Pervasive Impact of Climate Change
While habitat destruction is the direct cause of immediate loss, climate change acts as a structural, compounding threat that undermines the resilience of entire ecosystems. Rising temperatures and altered precipitation regimes stress species already confined to fragmented habitats, accelerating their decline. For instance, the Andes highlands are experiencing rapid glacier retreat, with some glaciers in Chile and Argentina having lost between 30% and 50% of their surface area since the 1980s.
This loss of ice jeopardizes the long-term fresh water supply for millions of people and for the fragile high-mountain ecosystems, known as páramos. Warming temperatures also force ecosystems to shift upwards, potentially shrinking the area of unique biomes like the páramos by an estimated 31% by 2050. This leaves high-altitude species with nowhere to go.
Changes in rainfall distribution have led to severe weather extremes, increasing the frequency of drought and fire. Widespread drought in the Amazonia and Pantanal regions in 2024 saw rainfall levels significantly below normal, creating conditions that made extreme fire weather 20 times more likely. The Mesoamerican Reef system faces an increasing risk of annual coral bleaching events due to rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification.
Direct Threats to Species
Separate from the wholesale destruction of ecosystems, certain species face focused threats from direct overexploitation and illegal trade. The illegal wildlife trade in Latin America is a significant, high-value black market, with over 100,000 animals trafficked between 2017 and 2022. Approximately 92.5% of these incidents involve live animals, supplying domestic and international demand for exotic pets, traditional medicine, and souvenirs.
Species like macaws, parrots, and primates are frequently poached for the pet trade, with a staggering mortality rate where up to 80% of trafficked animals die between capture and sale. The demand for parts, such as jaguar teeth and claws for traditional medicine and jewelry, drives targeted poaching of big cats.
Marine and terrestrial species also suffer from unsustainable harvesting practices, especially illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Large international fleets have been observed operating near sensitive marine protected areas, such as the Galápagos Islands, targeting species like giant squid. This direct pressure contributes to the overexploitation of fish stocks and can lead to the collapse of local populations.