Warning as report shows ‘catastrophic’ loss of plants and animals across globe
● Scotland’s Arctic skuas are among species vanishing
Nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before, according to a new report which shows wildlife populations across the world have crashed by more than two thirds in the past 50 years.
Experts are warning that plants and animals are in “freefall”, with “catastrophic” declines showing no signs of slowing.
They blame the spread of farming into previously wild landscapes and over-fishing among the main causes.
The latest Living Planet report, from international conservation charityWWF, has revealed that the numbers of mammals, birds, fish, plants and insects have fallen by an average of 68 per cent globally since 1970.
Scottish seabirds are among the species disappearing at an alarming speed, with Arctic skua populations dropping by 62 per cent over just three decades.
Found in the Orkney islands, the skua has been experiencing the most dramatic declines of any UK seabirds – thought to be a result of increased competition for food, driven by climate change.
Meanwhile, grey partridge numbers in the UK fell by 85 percent between 1970 and 2004, likely due to the effects of agricultural intensification.
Other species at serious risk of extinction across the globe include the Gr au er’ sgorilla, found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has seen an estimated 87 per cent population crash between 1994 and 2015, mostly due to illegal hunting.
African elephants declined by 98 percent between 1985 and 2010 due to increased poaching in the early 1980s.
Leather back turtles have seen declines in two locations: nest numbers were down by 84 per cent at T or tuguero beach in Costa Rica between 1995 and 2011, and by 78 per cent at Jamursba-medi beaches in Indonesia between 1993 and 2012.
The findings have sparked urgent calls for action to be taken before countless species vanish from the planet forever.
Conservationists say the situation could be effectively turned around if ambitious conservation efforts to protect wildlife are combined with urgent action to stop habitatloss and deforestation.
Lang Banks, director at WWF Scotland, said :“We’ re on track to wipe wildlife from the face of the planet, but nature is sending us a desperate SOS.
“This report makes clear that recover y can happen, but we need to place the environment at the hear t of our decisionmaking, end harmful practices and catalyse nature’s recovery if we are to have any hope of building a safe and resilient future for nature, people and our planet.
“Here in Scotland that means restoring and expanding our native habitats; building farming and fishing in a way that enhances nature and reduces climate emissions, and pro - tecting our oceans.”
Renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has added his sup - port, issuing a plea for international co-operation to restore the natural world.
WWF’S Living Planet Report includes work by more than 125 international researchers and draws on the latest findings in the Zoological S ocie - ty of London’ s Living Planet Index, tracking 4,392 species.
“We’re on track to wipe wildlife from the face of the planet, but nature is sending us a desperate SOS”
LANG BANKS Director, WWF Scotland
The new Living Planet report by conservation charity WWF could have been named Dying Planet.
Humans are destroying nature at a “catastrophic” rate, according to the analysis, which prompted naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough to issue a plea for international co-operation to restore the natural world.
There are some heartbreaking figures in the report, like the 98 per cent decline in the population of African elephants between 1985 and 2010, largely due to poaching.
Will our grandchildren come to marvel at the idea that such a magnificent creature, with its extraordinary trunk, ever existed? Will they insist that giraffes must be as fictional as the Loch Ness Monster?
If we do nothing, then it seems obvious the growing human population will increasingly come into conflict with any animals which do not provide us with food or some other kind of service. However, if we have the will, then we, the cleverest of all the animals, can find a way to ensure the survival of species whose fate we now largely control.