Harrowing, and relevant certainly to Finsbury Park, and our notions of the
Commons -
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2022 22:20:05 -0400
From: Portside <modera...@portside.org>
To: ports...@lists.portside.org
Subject: Animal Populations Experience Average Decline of Almost 70% Since 1970,
Report Reveals
Huge scale of human-driven loss of species demands urgent action, say world?s
leading scientists
ANIMAL POPULATIONS EXPERIENCE AVERAGE DECLINE OF ALMOST 70% SINCE
1970, REPORT REVEALS
Patrick Greenfield
October 12, 2022
The Guardian
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Huge scale of human-driven loss of species demands urgent action, say world?s
leading scientists
[ezgif.com-gif-maker%20%2810%29_1.jpg]
There was a 64% reduction of Australian sea lion pups between 1977 and 2019
due to hunting, entanglement in fishing gear or other marine debris and
disease., Photograph: Brad Leue/Alamy
Earth?s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in just under
50 years, according to a leading scientific assessment, as humans continue
to clear forests, consume beyond the limits of the planet and pollute on an
industrial scale.
From the open ocean to tropical rainforests, the abundance of birds, fish,
amphibians and reptiles is in freefall, declining on average by more than
two-thirds between 1970 and 2018, according to the WWF and Zoological
Society of London?s (ZSL) biennial Living Planet Report. Two years ago, the
figure stood at 68%, four years ago, it was at 60%.
Many scientists believe we are living through the sixth mass extinction ? the
largest loss of life on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs ? and that it is
being driven by humans. The report?s 89 authors are urging world leaders to
reach an ambitious agreement at the Cop15 biodiversity summit in Canada this
December and to slash carbon emissions to limit global heating to below 1.5C
this decade to halt the rampant destruction of nature.
The Living Planet Index combines global analysis of 32,000 populations of
5,230 animal species to measure changes in the abundance of wildlife across
continents and taxa, producing a graph akin to a stock index of life on
Earth.
Latin America and the Caribbean region ? including the Amazon ? has seen the
steepest decline in average wildlife population size, with a 94% drop in 48
years. Tanya Steele, chief executive at WWF-UK, said: ?This report tells us
that the worst declines are in the Latin America region, home to the world?s
largest rainforest, the Amazon. Deforestation rates there are accelerating,
stripping this unique ecosystem not just of trees but of the wildlife that
depends on them and of the Amazon?s ability to act as one of our greatest
allies in the fight against climate change.?
Africa had the second largest fall at 66%, followed by Asia and the Pacific
with 55% and North America at 20%. Europe and Central Asia experienced an
18% fall. The total loss is akin to the human population of Europe, the
Americas, Africa, Oceania and China disappearing, according to the report.
?Despite the science, the catastrophic projections, the impassioned speeches
and promises, the burning forests, submerged countries, record temperatures
and displaced millions, world leaders continue to sit back and watch our
world burn in front of our eyes,? said Steele. ?The climate and nature crises,
their fates entwined, are not some faraway threat our grandchildren will
solve with still-to-be-discovered technology.?
She added: ?We need our new prime minister to show the UK is serious about
helping people, nature and the economy to thrive, by ensuring every promise
for our world is kept. Falling short will be neither forgotten nor forgiven.?
A young lion looks towards the city skyline in Nairobi national park
A young lion looks towards the city skyline in Nairobi national park. Lions
are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list, with perhaps as few as 23,000
left in the wild. Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images
Leading nature charities have accused Liz Truss of putting the economy
before nature protection and the environment, and are concerned rare animals
and plants could lose their protections when her promise of a ?bonfire? of EU
red tape happens later this year.
The report points out that not all countries have the same starting points
with nature decline and that the UK has only 50% of its biodiversity
richness compared with historical levels, according to the biodiversity
intactness index, making it one of the most nature-depleted countries in the
world.
Land use change is still the most important driver of biodiversity loss
across the planet, according to the report. Mike Barrett, executive director
of science and conservation at WWF-UK, said: ?At a global level, primarily the
declines we are seeing are driven by the loss and fragmentation of habitat
driven by the global agricultural system and its expansion into intact
habitat converting it to produce food.?
The researchers underscore the increased difficulty animals are having
moving through terrestrial landscapes as they are blocked by infrastructure
and farmland. Only 37% of rivers longer than 1,000km (600 miles) remain
free-flowing along their entire length, while just 10% of the world?s
protected areas on land are connected.
Future declines are not inevitable, say the authors, who pinpoint the
Himalayas, south-east Asia, the east coast of Australia, the Albertine Rift
and Eastern Arc mountains in eastern Africa, and the Amazon basin among
priority areas.
The IUCN is also developing a standard to measure the conservation potential
of an animal, known as its green status, which will allow researchers to
plot a path to recovery for some of the one million species threatened with
extinction on Earth. The pink pigeon, burrowing bettong and Sumatran rhino
were highlighted as species with good conservation potential in a study last
year.
A wild pink pigeon at Black River Gorges national park in Mauritius
A wild pink pigeon ? identified as a species that could benefit from
conservation efforts ? at Black River Gorges national park in
Mauritius. Photograph: Mauritius Wildlife Photography/Alamy
Robin Freeman, head of the indicators and assessments unit at ZSL, said it
was clear that humanity is eroding the very foundations of life, and urgent
action is needed. ?In order to see any bending of the curve of biodiversity
loss ? it?s not just about conservation it?s about changing production and
consumption ? and the only way that we are going to be able to legislate or
call for that is to have these clear measurable targets that ask for
recovery of abundance, reduction of extinction risk and the ceasing of
extinctions at Cop15 in December.?
Patrick Greenfield is a biodiversity and environment reporter for the
Guardian and the Observer. Twitter @pgreenfielduk
* animals
* population decline
* environmental pollution
* overconsumption
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