Humans ‘pushing nature to the brink’
WWF report paints sobering picture
HUMANS are steadily pushing nature and the services that power and sustain mankind to the brink, with the way they feed, fuel and finance their societies and economies.
This is according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s latest Living Planet Report 2018. The bi-annual report presents a sobering picture of the alarming impact of human activity on the world’s wildlife, forests, oceans, rivers and climate.
It also underscores the rapidly closing window for action and urgent need for the global community to rethink and redefine how it values, protects and restores nature.
Through indicators such as the Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Species Habitat Index (SHI), the IUCN Red List Index (RLI) and the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), as well as Planetary Boundaries and the Ecological Footprint, the report paints a disturbing picture, that human activity is pushing the planet’s natural systems, that support life on Earth, to the edge.
The LPI, which tracks trends in global wildlife abundance, indicates that global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined, on average, by 60% between 1970 and 2014, the most recent year with available data.
Over recent decades human activity has severely impacted the habitats and natural resources that humans depend on, such as the oceans, forests, coral reefs, wetlands and mangroves, according to the report.
The top threats to species identified in the report are directly linked to human activities, including habitat loss and degradation and overexploitation of wildlife, states the report.
Examples of this is that 20% of the Amazon has disappeared in just 50 years and the Earth is estimated to have lost about half its shallow water corals in the past 30 years.
Living Planet Report 2018 also focuses on the value of nature to people’s health and well-being and that of their societies and economies.
Globally, nature provides services worth around 125 trillion US dollars a year, while helping to ensure a supply of fresh air, clean water, food, energy, medicines and other products and materials, states the report.
WWF chief executive Doctor Morne du Plessis said: “WWF is pushing hard for a new global deal for nature and people to address the crucial questions. The year 2020 provides an ideal opportunity to do this when global leaders will come together to review conventions on climate, biodiversity and sustainable development.”