Q & A

The report says that human activity is causing the natural world to decline at a staggering rate, which has never been seen on Earth before. Reversing the effects is possible, but it will take "transformative change" in everything we do.

If it continues, the crisis will put human life at risk too. "We are eroding the very foundations of economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide," explained Robert Watson, chair of IBPESIntergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. It includes governments from around the world, and the report was signed off by representatives from each of them. IBPES is part of the United Nations., the organisation behind the report.

What does it actually say?

Life on Earth: The human population has doubled since 1970, and the world's economy has grown four times. This rapid growth is putting pressure on Earth's resources as forests are cleared and cities expand. Natural ecosystemsComplex networks of living things that rely on each other to survive. have lost half their area to make way for humans and their livestock.

But all life is interconnected. Insects, plants, and animals all depend on each other to survive. Losing one species may not make a difference, but lose too many and the whole system begins to collapse. And human activity has now put one million species at risk of extinction.

Farming: Agriculture is the number-one cause of nature's decline. Around 25% of Earth's non-ice land is now used for grazing cattle. Together, agriculture and deforestationThe removal of a forest in order to use the land on which it stood for some other use, often agriculture or housing. make up a quarter of greenhouse gasGases in the Earth's atmosphere that trap heat, contributing to global warming. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour are all greenhouse gases. emissions.

Oceans: Only 3% of the world's waters are free from human pressure. A third of fish populations are exploited by overfishing. Two out of five amphibians are at risk of extinction, as are a third of coral reefs. Meanwhile, 80% of wastewater is pumped into oceans, streams and lakes, along with 300-400m tons of metals and toxic industrial chemicals.

Climate change: Although the report is about nature, global warming isn closely related. In fact, the two issues are "equally important", says Watson.

Is there time to reverse the disaster? The scale of change needed is difficult even to imagine. It will involve governments and people all around the world putting the environment before everything else - including growing economies and lifting people out of poverty.

The report says we must try anyway. Luckily, the solutions are often the same as those needed to fight climate change: planting billions of trees; switching to renewable energy, and eating less meat. Humans must learn that a good life is not about consuming more, but living in balance with nature.

Doubled: There were 3.7 billion people in 1970. There are now 7.5 billion. The world population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050.

Closely related: In fact, climate change and the crisis in the natural world both make each other worse. Climate change is a threat to biodiversity, as temperatures rise around the world. At the same time, cutting down trees makes climate change worse, as plants are one of the best ways of absorbing carbon dioxide.

What do we know? The report was published yesterday at a meeting in Paris. It found that wild animals' biomass (their collective weight) is down 82% from prehistory levels. About three-quarters of Earth's land, two-thirds of oceans and 85% of wetlands have been severely altered or lost. Governments will meet in 2020 to agree plans for saving nature and the climate.

What do we not know? Whether those changes will be enough to reverse the effects of the disaster, or whether governments will take action once the agreements have been made. We also do not know if this report will receive the same kind of attention as the UN's report into climate change last year, which inspired movements like the school strike for climate and Extinction Rebellion.