[ad_1]
Humankind has exterminated 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, forcing the world's leading experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is an emergency threatening civilization.
The new estimate of the wildlife massacre is presented in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from around the world. It shows that the increasing and increasing consumption of food and resources of the world's population is destroying the network of life, which has taken billions of years, and whose human society ultimately depends for its air pure, its water and all the rest.
"We sleep up to the edge of a cliff," said Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF. "If there was a 60% drop in the human population, that would equate to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That's the magnitude of what we did. "
"It's more than losing the wonders of nature, even if desperately sad," he said. "In reality, it endangers the future of people. Nature is not a "good to have" – it is our support system for life. "
interactive
"We are running out of time quickly," said Professor Johan Rockström, world expert in sustainable development at the Institute for Research on Climate Change Impacts in Potsdam, Germany. "Only by taking into account both ecosystems and climate will we be able to preserve a stable planet for the future of humanity on Earth."
Many scientists believe that the world has started a sixth mass extinction, the first caused by a species – Homo sapiens. Other recent analyzes have revealed that humanity has destroyed 83% of all mammals and half of the plants since the dawn of civilization and that even if the destruction was to cease now, it would have to be destroyed. 5 to 7 million years to the natural world to recover.
The Living Planet Index, produced for the WWF by the Zoological Society of London, uses data from 16,704 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, representing over 4,000 species, to track the decline of wildlife. Between 1970 and 2014, the latest available data, the populations decreased on average by 60%. Four years ago, the drop was 52%. The "shocking truth," said Barrett, is that the wildlife crash continues unabated.
Wildlife and ecosystems are essential to human life, said Professor Bob Watson, one of the world's leading environmental scientists and current chair of an intergovernmental group on biodiversity who said in March that the destruction of nature is as dangerous as climate change.
"Nature contributes to human well-being both culturally and spiritually, as well as through the essential production of food, drinking water and energy, and by the regulation of climate, pollution, pollination and flooding the Earth, "he said. "The Living Planet Report clearly demonstrates that human activities are destroying nature at an unacceptable rate, threatening the well-being of present and future generations."
The destruction of natural habitats, largely to create farmland, is the main cause of wildlife loss. Three-quarters of all Earth's land is now significantly affected by human activities. Food killings are the second leading cause – 300 species of mammals are threatened with extinction – while the oceans are massively overexploited and more than half of them are now exploited industrially.
African elephantsEvery day, 55 people are victims of ivory for ivory, which means that more people are poached than born, which means that people are in free fall.
Orangutans: More than 100,000 people were lost in the only city of Borneo between 1999 and 2015, largely because of the destruction of forests for timber and palm oil, leaving large monkeys critically endangered
Whale sharks: The number of larger fish has plummeted by two-thirds over the last 75 years in the Indian and Pacific oceans, due to overfishing and ship collisions.
Wandering Albatross: Populations are declining rapidly, largely because of incidental catches in longline fisheries. A controlled population in South Georgia halved between 1972 and 2010
Jaguar: The destruction of forests in South America leads to the decline of this big cat who prefers to live in the dense jungle
Gharials: There are only 200 breeding adults of the piscivorous crocodile in the wild in India and Nepal as a result of unrestrained fishing, poaching and decreases in stream flow.
Chinese giant salamander: This creature is one of 545 critically endangered amphibians, decimated by the hunt for food, the destruction of rivers and lakes, and pollution.
Hedgehog: This animal is one of the fifth most endangered British mammals, with populations dropping dramatically in both urban and rural areas.
Chemical pollution is also important: half of the world's killer whale populations are now condemned to die from PCB contamination. Global trade introduces invasive species and diseases, with amphibians decimated by a fungal disease that is thought to be spreading through the pet trade.
The most affected region is South and Central America, which recorded an 89% decline in the vertebrate population, mainly due to the slaughter of large areas of forest rich in wildlife. In the tropical savannah called cerrado, an area the size of Greater London is cleaned every two months, said Barrett.
"This is a classic example of the disappearance that results from our own consumption, because deforestation is caused by an increasingly productive agriculture that produces soybeans and is exported to countries like the UK to feed pigs. and chickens, "he said. The UK itself has lost much of its wildlife, ranking 189th for biodiversity loss in 218 countries in 2016.
Rivers and lakes, where wild animal populations have fallen by 83%, are the most affected habitats, due to the huge thirst for agriculture and the large number of dams. "Again, there is this direct link between the food system and the depletion of wildlife," Barrett said. Eating less meat is an essential part of reversing losses, he said.
The Living Planet Index has been criticized for over-measuring wildlife losses and for smoothing crucial details. But all indicators, from extinction rates to the integrity of ecosystems, show colossal losses. "They tell you all the same story," said Barrett.
Conservation efforts can work, with the number of tigers increasing by 20% in India in six years, with habitat protected. Giant pandas in China and otters in the UK also performed well.
However, Marco Lambertini, CEO of WWF International, said the fundamental problem is consumption: "We can no longer ignore the impact of current unsustainable production patterns and unnecessary lifestyles."
The nations of the world are working on the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in 2020, during which new commitments will be made for the protection of nature. "We need a new global agreement for nature and men and we have this narrow window of less than two years to get it," Barrett said. "It's really the last chance. We have to do it right this time. "
Tanya Steele, CEO of WWF, said: "We are the first generation to know that we are destroying our planet and the last one to be able to fix it."
