Human impact on 95pc of all land
Humans ‘have modified 95pc of world’s territory’
ENVIRONMENT: Only five per cent of the world’s land area is untouched by human activity according to new research – and ecologists have warned that greater efforts must be made to conserve threatened habitats.
JUST FIVE per cent of the world’s land is untouched by human activity as ecologists warn today that greater efforts must be made to conserve habitats other than pristine wilderness.
Researchers from The Nature Conservancy assessed the extent to which land had been modified by humans through 13 different activities from settlements and agriculture to roads, railways, mining and energy developments such as oil wells and wind farms.
Their study found that 95 per cent of the world’s land area, excluding Antarctica, had been modified by people, and the vast majority of landscapes –- 84 per cent – are facing multiple pressures. The study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, suggests the degree to which land has been affected by human activity is higher than previously reported.
Only 30 per cent of regional ecosystems or habitats – which range from mangroves, savanna and deserts to broadleaf and conifer forests – have seen low levels of human impact and retain most of their natural land, which is distant from settlements, agriculture and other pressures.
Just over half have been moderately changed or affected by humans, the research found. In many of these landscapes, only up to half of the land is formed of natural habitat, entwined with towns, farming, transport links and other uses.
And they are on a threshold where further loss or fragmentation of habitat could cause “precipitous declines” in wildlife and natural services that humans rely on to survive, such as provision of fresh water and crop pollination.
These moderately modified regions are often a more pressing conservation priority than either intact wilderness or areas where humans have had a high impact, the researchers argue.
Christina Kennedy, the report’s lead author and senior scientist at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), said proactive development, landscape protection and restoration strategies was needed to help maintain critical habitats to support nature and natural services.
But she warned these kind of areas were not commonly recognised under current conservation schemes, and were “likely to fall through the cracks”.
She added: “Our study reinforces that most of the world’s landscapes are complex mosaics of natural lands interspersed among human land uses. In light of this reality, conservation actions must include both protection and restoration strategies in the right places and in the right amounts to ensure functioning ecosystems.”
Joe Kiesecker, lead scientist at TNC, stressed habitats need “recognition and the attention” to “conserve the values they provide for people and nature”.
He said: “Conservation organisations agree that the large intact landscapes remaining on the planet are conservation priorities. But our results suggest that less of the world’s land remains unaltered by human activities, and most are in a state of intermediate modification at the threshold of critical tipping points.”
Most of the world’s landscapes are complex mosaics. Christina Kennedy, senior scientist at The Nature Conservancy.