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The decline of agricultural land use and the rebound of the snub-nosed monkey.
Dear Reader,
What does Dot have for you this Feel-Good Friday? Nothing less than the wonderful news that, “according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global agricultural land use peaked in the early 2000s and has been slowly falling ever since. Around the world, farmland is being replaced by grasslands, trees and bush. Wild animals are returning to abandoned pasturelands in areas they had once dominated,” reports the BBC.
We can credit more efficient use of farmland for part of that trend, but there are also some troublesome aspects, including that the increased prevalence of synthetic fabrics (which have an environmental cost) has eliminated the need for much of the land historically used to grow cotton or raise sheep for wool. Overall, however, the reduction in agricultural land is welcome news. Of course, as our population continues to grow, we’ll want to remain focused on more efficient use of already developed land. But researchers are encouraged, noting, the BBC tells us, that “We think current trends are likely to continue, with more and more land previously used for agriculture being freed up across the world.”
The BBC also delivers feel-good news about the adorable Chinese snub-nosed monkey, who lives in a mountainous region where logging had largely wiped out its habitat and, thus, the monkeys themselves. With the region now protected, the monkey population is rebounding. While tourists are invited, parts of the region remain off-limits to protect the monkeys, who tend to shy away from humans. Professor Yang, a researcher who has learned to speak the monkeys’ language in the 30 years he’s been studying them, is optimistic: “Their home is now very well protected,” he says. “They have food and drink, no worries about life’s necessities and, most of all, their numbers are growing.”
Do you have any Feel-Good news you want to share with the Dot universe? Send it along! (Along with ideas for Climate Champs or stories for Bluedot Living.)
Snubbily,
Dot
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