The last desert of the world could disappear

The international team has recently mapped intact ocean ecosystems, complementing a 2016 project to catalog remaining wilderness areas.

Professor James Watson, of the School of Earth Sciences and the Environment of UQ, said the two studies provided the first overall picture of the remaining lack of wilderness, and that He 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 land, with the exception of 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.

"And in the ocean, the only areas free of industrial fishing, pollution and shipping are almost entirely confined to the polar regions."

James R. Allan, a postdoctoral researcher 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 that forces nations, industry, society or communities to be accountable for long-term conservation.

"We need the immediate establishment of bold goals in the wild – especially those that aim to conserve biodiversity, avoid dangerous climate change and achieve sustainable development."

The researchers insist that global policy must be translated into local action.

"One of the obvious interventions that these countries can privilege is the creation of protected areas so as to slow down the effects of industrial activity on the larger land or sea landscape," said the professor. Watson.

"But we must also stop industrial development to protect indigenous livelihoods, create mechanisms for the private sector to protect the wilderness, and promote the expansion of regional fisheries management organizations.

"We have already lost so much, so we must seize this opportunity to secure the last remaining desert before it will ever disappear."

The article was published in Nature.

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More information:
Protect the last of nature, Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / d41586-018-07183-6