90% of seabirds have plastic in stomachs
THE percentage of seabirds with plastic in their stomach has increased to 90 per cent from 5 per cent in 1960, a shocking report reveals.
Plastic pollution is one of the worst ways man is adversely affecting the environment.
Global wildlife populations have fallen by 60 per cent since 1970 as humans overuse natural resources, drive climate change and pollution.
Only a quarter of the world’s land area is free from the impacts of human activity and by 2050 that will have fallen to just a tenth, the Living Planet Report 2018 says.
From hedgehogs and puffins to elephants, rhinos, polar bears, and orangutans, wildlife is declining – driven by habitat loss, poaching, pollution and higher temperatures, according to the report by the Zoological Society of London and the WWF.
Populations of more than 4,000 species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians have declined by an average of 60 per cent between 1970 and 2014.
Among the alarming findings was work from the Commonwealth and Scientific Research Organisation which showed that of 186 species of seabirds 90 per cent have plastic in their stomachs, a figure projected to rise to 99 per cent by 2050.
The Daily Mail has led the fight to cut the number of plastic bags dished out by supermarkets, as well as championing a deposit scheme to curb plastic bottle dumping.
Species which live in fresh water habitats, such as frogs and river fish, have seen global population falls of 83 per cent. Tropical areas have experienced the worst declines, with an 89 per cent fall in populations monitored in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1970.
Marco Lambertini, director general of the WWF said: ‘Our planet is at a crossroads and we have the opportunity to decide the path ahead. The astonishing decline in wildlife populations is a grim reminder and perhaps the ultimate indicator of the pressure we exert on the planet.’
Current action to protect nature fails to match the scale of the threat facing the planet, the conservationists claim. ‘Exploding’ levels of human consumption are driving the impacts on nature, with overexploitation of natural resources, deforestation to grow crops such as soy and palm oil, and the use of pesticides in agriculture.
Climate change and plastic pollution are also growing threats.
But wildlife is not just a ‘nice to have’ for humans, the report warns, with human food, health and medicines relying on natural resources. All human economic activity depends on nature, the report said. Globally, natural resources are estimated to provide services – for example, pollination of plants – worth 125trillion US dollars (£97trillion) a year.
With the world set to review progress on sustainable development and conserving biodiversity under UN agreements by 2020, there is a chance for action in the next two years, WWF argues.
A new global deal should be secured, backed by commitments from governments and businesses.
WWF chief executive Tanya Steele said: ‘We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it.
TV presenter and WWF-UK ambassador Ben Fogle said: ‘I don’t want my children growing up to learn about tigers, rhinos and even hedgehogs through history books and museums. I want them to see our world’s diverse and wonderful wildlife with their own eyes.
‘But our inaction is wiping out species. It terrifies me that, unless we make committed and immediate change to the way we live, there will be no other option for them.’