Donald Trump campaigned on the promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and besides the widespread criticism of this plan related to immigration, the plan threatens the environment, too.

Environmentalists say the is an "act of self-sabotage." They predict that the wall, if funded and built, will endanger already endangered species like ocelots and jaguars - and even impinge on the issue of climate change, all without having any noticeable impact on immigration.

Conservationists say the wall requires an amount of concrete that would drastically increase carbon dioxide levels.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance calculates that the concrete needed would total approximately 1.9 million tons, depending on height.

Little to no specifications have been provided on the border wall.Analysts estimate it be built 35 feet high, or 55 feet, or even higher.President Trump has said that some portions of the fence might consist of fencing rather than concrete.

Emissions produced in the construction of the wall are not the only concern for conservationists.

They say a wall of any kind will severely restrict the movement of animals in the areas where the wall stands, which would have considerably negative impacts on wildlife.

These animals move from one area to another in response to the warming and cooling of the climate.The wall would keep them from efficiently doing so.

"In terms of climate adaptation, building a border wall is an act of self-sabotage," says Dan Millis of the Sierra Club's Borderlands Project.

"And the reason I say that is we're already seeing wildlife migrations blocked with the current walls and fences that have already been built.We have hundreds of these walls that were built without dozens of environmental protections."

Image: Mike Licht

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