70% of the world's last wilderness in just five countries, research reveals

New research has warned that more than 70% of the remaining virgin nature areas of our planet are in just five countries and are at the mercy of political decisions about their future.

According to the study, urgent international action is needed to ensure the preservation of these remaining pockets of intact ecosystems, which call for mandatory conservation objectives.

The places where the largest remaining wilderness area containing species mixtures at near natural abundance levels have been identified as being found in Russia, Canada, Australia, the United States and Canada. Brazil.

Produced by the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the study published in the journal Nature, argues that these areas are "increasingly important buffers in the face of changing conditions … yet they are not an explicit target in international policy frameworks"

The study also examines the enormous future value that these areas will likely have for our planet.

"These are also the only areas supporting ecological processes that support biodiversity over evolving time scales," the report says. "As such, they are important reservoirs of genetic information and serve as reference areas for efforts to revive degraded landscapes and seascapes."

Professor James Watson of UQ's University of Earth Sciences and Environment said the work provided the first overall picture of the remaining lack of wilderness and was alarmed by the results.

"A century ago, only 15% of the Earth's surface was used by humans to grow crops and raise livestock," he said. "Today, more than 77% of the lands – excluding Antarctica – and 87% of the oceans have been altered by the direct effects of human activities. It may be hard to believe, but between 1993 and 2009, a wilderness area larger than India – 3.3 million square kilometers – was lost due to human settlements, agriculture, mining and other pressures.

James Allan, a postdoctoral fellow at UQ, said the remaining wilderness in the world could only be protected if its importance was recognized in international politics.

"Some wilderness areas are protected by national legislation, but in most countries these areas are not formally defined, mapped or protected," he said. "There is nothing to hold countries, industry, society or communities accountable for long-term conservation. We need the immediate establishment of bold wilderness goals, especially those aimed at preserving biodiversity, avoiding dangerous climate change and achieving sustainable development. "

"One of the obvious interventions that these countries can prioritize is the creation of protected areas so as to slow down the effects of industrial activity on the larger land or sea landscape," said Professor Watson. "We have already lost so much, so we must seize this opportunity to secure the last remaining desert before it will disappear forever."