One million species at risk of extinction

The UN’s new report on the natural world took three years to write. It involved 450 experts poring over 15,000 scientific studies and reports from indigenous people. Yesterday, it was finally published: 1,800 pages in total, with a 40-page summary. It makes for grim reading.

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 IBPES, 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 ecosystems 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 deforestation make up a quarter of greenhouse gas 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 is closely related. In fact, the two issues are “equally important”, says Watson.

Better nature?

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.