The United Nations said that nature is declining “at rates unprecedented in human history.” So much so, that 1 million species have reached the brink of extinction. Human beings have significantly altered the planet to unsustainable and destructive levels. A recent report has been published outlining the grave picture of the situation we find ourselves in today.
Nearly 150 authors from 50 nations worked for three years to compile the report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) — a panel with 132 member nations, including the United States. Representatives of each member nation signed off on the findings.
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, chief program officer with the Natural Resource Defense Council, told ABC News:
When you think about 1 million species, it really brings it home that we are the stewards of the earth.
According to the United Nations report, around 75% of Earth’s terrestrial environment has been “severely altered” by human actions. Within the past century, the average abundance of native plant and animal life has dropped by 20% or more in most major land habitats. The major drivers of natural destruction are changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasive species.
Sir Robert Watson, the chair of the IPBES, responsible for the report, said:
We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.
Watson says that even though the earth has suffered a lot of damage it is mendable if we act now. It is not too late to begin to change course. However, humans must start now at every level from local to global.
Climate change is set to become the biggest disrupter of nature in the coming decades. Greenhouse gas emissions have doubled since 1980, raising average global temperatures by at least 0.7 degrees Celsius. The IPBES summary posits that a majority of land species’ populations will “shrink profoundly” even if temperature rise stops at 2 degrees Celsius.
For instance, ocean ecosystems are sensitive to heat and are degrading as temperatures rise toward 2 degrees Celsius. As we lose coral reefs due to climate change it could cause a collapse in commercial and indigenous fisheries, affecting billions of coastal residents who rely on seafood for protein.
Watson said:
Once you get to basically 2 degrees Celsius, the models show that only 1 percent can survive. Let’s be quite candid. We’re not on the pathway to 2 degrees Celsius. We’re on a pathway to 3, 3 ½ degrees Celsius. The coral system is truly in trouble.
Oceana senior adviser Philip Chou called the report “a beacon for more action to address a crisis”.
He said:
We are seeing alarming increases in the deaths of fish, marine mammals and turtles ingesting plastics. These plastics break apart in the ocean into microscopic particles [that are] consumed by fish, fish we now eat.
By around 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion. The pressure on natural resources is already enormous, imagine when there are over 1 billion more people. Furthermore, the methods of harvest are unsustainable.
Currently, 75% of the land environment and over 50% of the marine environment has been altered by humans. The authors say humans extract 60 billion tons from nature each year to satisfy demands worldwide for crops, fish, minerals and other goods.
Achim Steiner, the director-general of UNESCO, said that these findings are a wake-up call.
He wrote in a statement:
This essential report reminds each of us of the obvious truth: the present generations have the responsibility to bequeath to future generations a planet that is not irreversibly damaged by human activity.
