The Amazon has seen a fair amount of environmental degradation and humans have been degrading the environment since the use of fire. Thomas Lovejoy argues that we need to be proactive in protecting the biological wealth of the planet while also thinking about how we can manage the land to support human aspirations, because degradation is diminishing the capacity of the planet to support humans and other forms of life. Professor Lovejoy cites Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) as an example of biological diversity and ecosystem degradation. He notes that we are at a turning point in the story of degradation.

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