Nature decline is now nearing dangerous tipping points, WWF warns

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Nature decline is now nearing dangerous tipping points, WWF warns

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Getty Images

Wildlife populations have plummeted, mainly due to habitat loss, WWF figures reveal

Human activity is continuing to drive what conservation charity the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) calls a “catastrophic” loss of species.

From elephants in tropical forests to hawksbill turtles off the Great Barrier Reef, populations are plummeting, according to a stocktake of the world’s wildlife.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, a comprehensive overview of the state of the natural world, reveals global wildlife populations have shrunk by an average of 73% in the past 50 years.

The loss of wild spaces was “putting many ecosystems on the brink”, WWF *** head Tanya Steele said, and many habitats, from the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

to coral reefs, were “on the edge of very dangerous tipping points”.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==© Shutterstock / COULANGES / WWF-Sweden

River dolphins are rapidly disappearing along with their natural habitats

The report is based on the Living Planet Index of more than 5,000 bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile and fish population counts over five decades.

Among many snapshots of human-induced wildlife loss, it reveals 60% of the world’s

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

pink river dolphins have been wiped out by pollution and other threats, including mining and civil unrest.

It also captured hopeful signs of conservation success.

A sub-population of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of East ******* increased by about 3% per year between 2010 and 2016, for example.

But the WWF said these “isolated successes are not enough, amid a backdrop of the widespread destruction of habitats”.

Tom Oliver, professor of ecology at the University of Reading, who is unconnected with the report, said when this information was combined with other datasets, insect declines for example, “we can piece together a robust – and worrying – picture of global biodiversity collapse”.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Getty Images

There are hopeful signs of recovery for one great ape, the mountain gorilla, following decades of conservation work

The report found habitat degradation and loss was the biggest threat to wildlife, followed by overexploitation, invasive species, ********, climate change and pollution.

Lead author and WWF chief scientific adviser Mike Barrett said through human action, “particularly the way that we produce and consume our food, we are increasingly losing natural habitat”.

The report also warns nature loss and climate change are fast pushing the world towards irreversible tipping points, including the potential “collapse” of the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

rainforest, whereby it can no longer lock away planet-warming carbon and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Getty Images

Hawksbill turtles are in decline, with nesting females in north-east Queensland, Australia, falling by 57% over 28 years

“Please don’t just feel sad about the loss of nature,” Mr Barrett said.

“Be aware that this is now a fundamental threat to humanity and we’ve really got to do something now.”

Valentina Marconi, from the Zoological Society of London’s Institute of Zoology, told BBC News the natural world was in a “precarious position” but with urgent, collective action from world leaders “we still have the chance to reverse this”.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== © WWF-Aus / Chris Johnson

The report measures declines in bird species such as chinstrap penguins, in Antarctica

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==© Jacqueline Lisboa / WWF-Brazil

Habitat loss is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity

Ms Steele said the report was an “incredible wake-up call”.

“Healthy ecosystems underpin our health, prosperity and wellbeing,” she told BBC News.

“We don’t think this sits on the shoulders of the average citizen – it’s the responsibility of business and of government.

“We need to look after our land and our most precious wild places for future generations.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Nature #decline #nearing #dangerous #tipping #points #WWF #warns

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up