Life on Earth is under serious threat, despite the commitment by world leaders to reverse the trend, says a recent studyGovernments are failing to protect the biodiversity which is under great threat across the globe, says a study by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The study, published every four years, comes just before the deadline set by governments to evaluate how successful they were in achieving the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss. The IUCN report, Wildlife in a Changing World, shows the 2010 target will not be met.
“It’s time to recognise that nature is the largest company on Earth working for the benefit of 100 per cent of humankind – and it’s doing it for free. Governments should put as much effort, if not more, into saving nature as they do into saving economic and financial sectors,”says Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy head of IUCN’s Species Programme and senior editor of the publication.
The report analyses 44,838 species on the IUCN Red List. It shows 869 species are extinct. Overall, a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction. Considering that only 2.7 per cent of the 1.8 million described species have been analysed, this number is a gross underestimate, but it is a microcosm of the larger picture.
In Europe, 38 per cent of all fishes are threatened and 28 per cent in Eastern Africa due to the high degree of connectivity in freshwater systems, allowing pollution or invasive species to spread rapidly, and the development of water resources with scant regard for the species that live in them.
Marine species
A broad range of marine species are experiencing potentially irreversible loss due to over-fishing, climate change, invasive species, coastal development and pollution.
At least 17 per cent of the 1,045 shark and ray species, 12.4 per cent of groupers and six of the seven marine turtle species are threatened with extinction. Most noticeably, 27 per cent of the 845 species of reef-building corals are threatened, 20 per cent are Near Threatened and there is not enough data for 17 per cent to be assessed. Marine birds are much more threatened that terrestrial ones with 27.5 per cent in danger of extinction, compared with 11.8 per cent of terrestrial birds.
“Think of fisheries without fishes, logging without trees, tourism without coral reefs or other wildlife, crops without pollinators,” says Vié.
“Imagine the damage to our economies and societies if they were lost. All the plants and animals that make up Earth’s amazing wildlife have a specific role and contribute to essentials like food, medicine, oxygen, pure water, crop pollination, carbon storage and soil fertilisation. Economies are utterly dependent on species diversity. We need them all, in large numbers. We quite literally cannot afford to lose them.”
The report shows nearly one third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds and nearly a quarter of mammals are threatened with extinction. For some plant groups, such as conifers and cycads, the situation is even more serious, with 28 per cent and 52 per cent threatened respectively. For all these groups, habitat destruction, through agriculture, logging and development, is the main threat and occurs worldwide.
In the case of amphibians, the fungal disease chytridiomycosis is seriously affecting an increasing number of species, complicating conservation efforts.
For birds, the highest number of threatened species is found in Brazil and Indonesia, but the highest proportion of threatened or extinct birds is found on oceanic islands. Invasive species and hunting are the main threats. For mammals, unsustainable hunting is the greatest threat after habitat loss. This is having a major impact in Asia, where deforestation is also occurring at a very rapid rate.
Climate change
After examining the biological characteristics of 17,000 species of birds, amphibians and reef-building corals, the report found that a significant proportion of species that are currently not threatened with extinction are susceptible to climate change. This includes 30 per cent of non-threatened birds, 51 per cent of non-threatened corals and 41 per cent of non-threatened amphibians, which all have traits that make them susceptible to climate change.
New IUCN Red List show that birds, mammals, amphibians and corals show a continuing deterioration, with a particularly rapid decline for corals.
Red List Indices for amphibian, mammal and bird species show that bird and mammal species used for food and medicine are much more threatened.
“The IUCN Red List provides a window on many of the major global issues of our day, including climate change, loss of freshwater ecosystems and over-fishing,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and co-editor. “Unless we address the fundamental causes of unsustainability on our planet, the lofty of goals of governments to reduce extinction rates will count for nothing.”
The study, published every four years, comes just before the deadline set by governments to evaluate how successful they were in achieving the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss. The IUCN report, Wildlife in a Changing World, shows the 2010 target will not be met.
“It’s time to recognise that nature is the largest company on Earth working for the benefit of 100 per cent of humankind – and it’s doing it for free. Governments should put as much effort, if not more, into saving nature as they do into saving economic and financial sectors,”says Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy head of IUCN’s Species Programme and senior editor of the publication.
The report analyses 44,838 species on the IUCN Red List. It shows 869 species are extinct. Overall, a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction. Considering that only 2.7 per cent of the 1.8 million described species have been analysed, this number is a gross underestimate, but it is a microcosm of the larger picture.
In Europe, 38 per cent of all fishes are threatened and 28 per cent in Eastern Africa due to the high degree of connectivity in freshwater systems, allowing pollution or invasive species to spread rapidly, and the development of water resources with scant regard for the species that live in them.
Marine species
A broad range of marine species are experiencing potentially irreversible loss due to over-fishing, climate change, invasive species, coastal development and pollution.
At least 17 per cent of the 1,045 shark and ray species, 12.4 per cent of groupers and six of the seven marine turtle species are threatened with extinction. Most noticeably, 27 per cent of the 845 species of reef-building corals are threatened, 20 per cent are Near Threatened and there is not enough data for 17 per cent to be assessed. Marine birds are much more threatened that terrestrial ones with 27.5 per cent in danger of extinction, compared with 11.8 per cent of terrestrial birds.
“Think of fisheries without fishes, logging without trees, tourism without coral reefs or other wildlife, crops without pollinators,” says Vié.
“Imagine the damage to our economies and societies if they were lost. All the plants and animals that make up Earth’s amazing wildlife have a specific role and contribute to essentials like food, medicine, oxygen, pure water, crop pollination, carbon storage and soil fertilisation. Economies are utterly dependent on species diversity. We need them all, in large numbers. We quite literally cannot afford to lose them.”
The report shows nearly one third of amphibians, more than one in eight birds and nearly a quarter of mammals are threatened with extinction. For some plant groups, such as conifers and cycads, the situation is even more serious, with 28 per cent and 52 per cent threatened respectively. For all these groups, habitat destruction, through agriculture, logging and development, is the main threat and occurs worldwide.
In the case of amphibians, the fungal disease chytridiomycosis is seriously affecting an increasing number of species, complicating conservation efforts.
For birds, the highest number of threatened species is found in Brazil and Indonesia, but the highest proportion of threatened or extinct birds is found on oceanic islands. Invasive species and hunting are the main threats. For mammals, unsustainable hunting is the greatest threat after habitat loss. This is having a major impact in Asia, where deforestation is also occurring at a very rapid rate.
Climate change
After examining the biological characteristics of 17,000 species of birds, amphibians and reef-building corals, the report found that a significant proportion of species that are currently not threatened with extinction are susceptible to climate change. This includes 30 per cent of non-threatened birds, 51 per cent of non-threatened corals and 41 per cent of non-threatened amphibians, which all have traits that make them susceptible to climate change.
New IUCN Red List show that birds, mammals, amphibians and corals show a continuing deterioration, with a particularly rapid decline for corals.
Red List Indices for amphibian, mammal and bird species show that bird and mammal species used for food and medicine are much more threatened.
“The IUCN Red List provides a window on many of the major global issues of our day, including climate change, loss of freshwater ecosystems and over-fishing,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and co-editor. “Unless we address the fundamental causes of unsustainability on our planet, the lofty of goals of governments to reduce extinction rates will count for nothing.”
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