One Million Species Risk Extinction Due To Humans: Draft UN Report
Source: AFP
Up to one million species face extinction due to human influence, according to a draft UN report obtained by AFP that painstakingly catalogues how humanity has undermined the natural resources upon which its very survival depends.
The accelerating loss of clean air, drinkable water, CO2-absorbing forests, pollinating insects, protein-rich fish and storm-blocking mangroves -- to name but a few of the dwindling services rendered by Nature -- poses no less of a threat than climate change, says the report, set to be unveiled May 6.
Indeed, biodiversity loss and global warming are closely linked, according to the 44-page Summary for Policy Makers, which distills a 1,800-page UN assessment of scientific literature on the state of Nature. Delegates from 130 nations meeting in Paris from April 29 will vet the executive summary line-by-line. Wording may change, but figures lifted from the underlying report cannot be altered.
"We need to recognise that climate change and loss of Nature are equally important, not just for the environment, but as development and economic issues as well," Robert Watson, chair of the UN-mandated body that compiled the report, told AFP, without divulging its findings. -More...
Read more: https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/one-million-species-risk-extinction-due-humans-draft-un-report-doc-1fu6ad1
(AFP/Agence France-Presse) 'Mass extinction event': The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report warns of "an imminent rapid acceleration in the global rate of species extinction."
The pace of loss "is already tens to hundreds of times higher than it has been, on average, over the last 10 million years," it notes. "Half-a-million to a million species are projected to be threatened with extinction, many within decades."
Humans and livestock account for more than 95 percent of mammal biomass. - Population growth: "If we're going to have a sustainable planet that provides services to communities around the world, we need to change this trajectory in the next ten years, just as we need to do that with climate," noted WWF chief scientist Rebecca Shaw, formerly a member of the UN scientific bodies for both climate and biodiversity.
Species Extinction: Experts say up to a million species face extinction -- some within decades -- from human activity including habitat loss, over-consumption and illegal poaching.
Deforestation: The report finds that 3/4ths of land surfaces have been 'severely altered' by mankind including through deforestation.
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*Coming Mass Extinction* Caused by Human Destruction Could Wipe Out 1 Million Species, Warns UN Draft Report. Far-reaching global assessment details how humanity is undermining the very foundations of the natural world. Common Dreams, April 23, 2019.
"On the heels of an Earth Day that featured calls for radical action to address the current "age of environmental breakdown," Agence France-Presse revealed Tuesday that up to a million species face possible extinction because of destructive human behavior.
The warning comes from a forthcoming United Nations report, a draft of which was obtained by AFP, that "painstakingly catalogues how humanity has undermined the natural resources upon which its very survival depends."
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/04/23/coming-mass-extinction-caused-human-destruction-could-wipe-out-1-million-species
Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) are seen inside a cage at a rehabilitation center in Kuta Mbelin, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The orangutans in the country are on the verge of extinction because of deforestation and poaching. (Photo credit Getty)
Conjurer
(13 posts)For the planet and the animals
JudyM
(29,122 posts)Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)We can definitely do better than a paltry million
Miigwech
(3,741 posts)Not much will be left of nature after we get done with Mother Earth ... sure looks like the rape of Mother Earth
appalachiablue
(41,056 posts)and hope and pray.
Humans!
Miigwech
(3,741 posts)that Mother Earth provides.
appalachiablue
(41,056 posts)What other species could approach this level, few
Dem2theMax
(9,595 posts)Bye-bye humans, save all the other species and the planet.
appalachiablue
(41,056 posts)CrispyQ
(36,236 posts)I bought that bumper sticker back at the turn of the century.
appalachiablue
(41,056 posts)Mother Nature will take care of things, as they say.
Cold War Spook
(1,279 posts)I feel sorry for the babies that will be born in the 2050s.
NickB79
(19,117 posts)Given how we're already seeing climate effects today that were not predicted to occur until 2040 just 10 years ago.