Jaguars have returned to Iberรก national park in Argentina, The Guardian says. This helped a damaged wetland become stronger. Jaguars hunted and scared large plant-eating animals, so they ate fewer wetland plants. The plants grew back. Their roots held more water in the soil, and their branches gave homes to other animals. Soon, caimans rested on banks, red macaws flew, and giant otters swam in the waterways.
The Iberรก wetlands are also a carbon sink. This means they store carbon in trees, roots, soil, and water. Healthy wetlands, forests, and mangroves can keep carbon out of the air. They also help many kinds of life. Scientists call this a feedback loop. One change starts another change, and the second change makes the first stronger. In Iberรก, jaguars changed grazing, plants, water, soil, and wildlife. The source says life on Earth grew from such links about 3.8bn to 4.2bn years ago.
But nature repair is not a magic answer. People still must cut greenhouse gas pollution fast. In 2019, a team wrote in Science that natural forest repair was the best climate change solution. A colleague from the World Wildlife Fund warned that people might be angry. Some might think tree planting means we do not need to cut pollution. The writer says no. Nature may help with 30% of the need to take carbon from the air, but lower pollution is still the first job.
Good repair protects many kinds of life. Planting one kind of tree can hurt native species. Dry peatlands can release much CO2. In Iberรก, ecotourism gave jobs to rangers, chefs, hosts, and guides. In Saseri, northern India, soil care and trees help over 1,200 farmers. In Gujarat, Indigenous women restore mangroves to protect 12 coastal villages from erosion and help fish, crops, and farm animals.