The world's animal, bird and fish populations have fallen by more than two-thirds in less than 50 years due to overuse, experts said in a stern warning on Thursday. ...
Human activity has devastated
three-quarters of all land and 40 percent of the world's oceans, and the rapid
destruction of our nature is likely to have far-reaching consequences for our
health and livelihoods.
The Living Planet Index, which identifies
more than 4,000 species, warns that deforestation and agricultural expansion
have increased behind an average 68% decline in population between 1970 and
2016.
It warns that continued loss of natural
habitat increases the risk of future epidemics as humans increase their
presence in close contact with wildlife.
The Living Planet 2020 report between WWF
International and the Zoological Society of London is the 13th edition of a
biennial publication that tracks wildlife populations around the world.
Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF
International, told AFP that the earth's biodiversity had been at an all-time
low since the 1970s.
"This is a rapid decline that we have
been monitoring for 30 years and it is going in the wrong direction," he
said.
"In 2016 we documented a 60 per cent
reduction, now we have a 70 per cent reduction.
"It's all in the blink of an eye
compared to millions of years ago when there were so many generations living on
the planet," Lambertini added.
- 'Amazing' fall -
The last half-decade has seen
extraordinary economic growth due to the explosion in global consumption of
natural resources.
Although by 1970, humanity was less than
Earth's ability to recreate environmentally friendly resources; the WWF now
calculates that we are using more than half of the planet's capacity.
While with the help of factors such as
invasive species and pollution, changes in land use are the single biggest
driver of extinct species: in general, industry converts forest or grasslands
into fields.
This causes a lot of damage to wild
species, which lose their homes.
But sustainable resources are also needed’
to sustain it: one-third of all the earth's mass and three-quarters of all freshwater are now devoted to food production.
The picture is just as dire at sea, where
75% of fish stocks are, exploited.
And while wildlife is declining rapidly,
the species is disappearing faster in some places than in others.
The index said the tropical regions of
Central and South America have seen a 94 percent decline in species since 1970.
"It's amazing. It's ultimately an
indication of our impact on the natural world," Lambertini said.
- 'Troubled by grief' -
The Ling Planet update, co-authored by
more than 40 NGOs and educational institutions, outlines ways to capture and
reverse the harms of human use.
The study, published in the journal
Nature, found that reducing food waste and favoring healthier and more
environmentally friendly foods could help "turn the tide".
The authors suggest that, in conjunction
with basic conservation efforts, these measures could save up to two-thirds of
future biodiversity loss.
"We need to act now. Biodiversity
recovery rates are generally much slower than recent biodiversity loss,"
said David Leclere, lead study author and research scholar at the International
Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
"This indicates that any delay in
action will contribute to further damage to biodiversity, which could take
decades to restore."
Leclere also warned of
"irreversible" losses to biodiversity, such as when a species becomes
extinct.
Like public talk about climate change,
societies are increasingly concerned about the link between planetary health
and human well-being, Lambertini said.
"The grief of losing power has made
people really upset," he said.
"We still have a moral obligation to
adapt to life on the planet, but now there is this new element affecting our
society, our economy and, indeed, our health."
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