Planetary emergency: One million plant and animal species extinct

Biodiversity provides essential services for human well-being such as clothing, food and medicine. It is vital to health, well-being and economic progress, but is disappearing at an alarming rate.

since 1970By analyzing 32,000 populations of 5,230 species, Lost 69% of the world’s mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, about three-quarters of the wildlife.

Among the most affected areas Latin America and the Caribbean, which lost 9 out of 10 animals (94% of wildlife). authentic disaster results from changes in land use to produce devouring food, and turns the biggest green lung on the planet to ash: the Amazon.

Africa lost 66% of wildlife and the Asia-Pacific region 55%. The impact has also been particularly worrying. freshwater ecosystemsIt decreases by 83% on average in rivers and wetlands.

Moreover half of the corals are goneIt is a vital ecosystem for most of humanity and is home to a quarter of marine species, and 18 of 31 oceanic shark and stingray species have reduced their abundance by 71%.

planetary emergency

a planetary emergencyTogether double crisis, climate and loss of biodiversityTwo sides of the same coin with serious consequences: displacement and deaths from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, growing food insecurity, soil depletion, lack of access to fresh water, and an increase in zoonotic and pandemic diseases.

How to deal with this situation? The WWF report scientifically demonstrates that unsustainable human activity is pushing the limits of the planet’s natural systems. “We are destroying wildlife at an unprecedented rateIt is urgent that we take action now to reverse the situation and achieve a positive character by 2030,” the NGO said.

According to the WWF, the first step should be to understand why nature is in decline to find another way. Intergovernmental Science and Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Five main causes of biodiversity loss: changes in sea and land use, direct use of organisms, climate change, pollution and invasive species.

this overuse of plants and animalsIt causes significant losses in biodiversity through poaching or poaching.

Moreover overfishing responsible for nearly a third of all monitored global fish stocks being endangered. If this continues, it will be disastrous for marine ecosystems and the more than three billion people worldwide who depend on fish as their main source of protein.

Climate change also has a dramatic effect on nature.. Some species are endangered and others are forced to move due to changes in temperature, weather and sea level. In addition to being a direct cause of biodiversity loss, climate change worsens other causes.

Unsustainable food production

this pollution It has already reached all kinds of ecosystems, including those in remote areas. It comes in many forms, from nitrogen and ammonia produced by industrial agriculture. microplastics submerged in the ocean.

this invasive species They cause a change in the composition of natural ecosystems, driving many other native species to extinction.

The WWF report also highlights: The “busy and unsustainable” way food is currently produced is disrupting and destroying ecosystems that they are “critical to the well-being of people and nature”.

Food production has already caused 70% of the world’s biodiversity loss and consumes 50% of fresh water. It is also responsible for about 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

But there is still hope. “We are just in time to stop and reverse wildlife loss. Nature is our great ally and we cannot continue to treat it like an enemy. We need to take care of this and build a future where people and nature can thrive,” emphasizes WWF.

Of course, “many conservation efforts and production and more sustainable consumption“. But none of these actions alone is sufficient, and only when all three are carried out at the same time “we will see that the loss of nature can be reversed, and that at the speed we need.”

Nature itself is a great ally when it comes to tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. “nature-based solutions “They are harnessing its power to increase ecosystems, biodiversity and human well-being, and to solve important problems, including climate change,” emphasizes WWF.

‘Living Planet 2022’ Report: https://wwfes.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/descarga_informe_planeta_vivo_2022.pdf?62040/Informe-Planeta-Vivo-2022-La-naturaleza-nos-lanza-un-SOS

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Contact address of the environment department: crizclimatica@prensaiberica.es