The Caatinga is the most important tropical dry forest region in the Americas, featuring a distinct array of species and ecosystems. Historical accounts by naturalists who traveled through the area during the 1700s and 1800s indicate that it was far more diverse than it is today. A recent paper by Everton A. Maciel, Fabrina Martins, David Lapola, Roger Torres, and Prof. Silva modeled the distribution changes for over 1,123 plant species used by human populations under various climate scenarios. Our research projected significant biodiversity loss, particularly under the more severe SSP5-8.5 scenario. These results suggest that, regrettably, the biodiversity of the Caatinga will continue to decline if no substantial conservation and/or restoration program is designed and implemented to alter the fate of the region's biodiversity. To date, the actions taken have been merely cosmetic and inadequate to meet the scale of the challenge.
