Can we turn the tide? Experts have warned that human-driven environmental destruction is killing off our wildlife at staggeringly rapid rates. Have we finally reached our tipping point?
Wildlife numbers down 73% in 50 years
Can we turn the tide? Experts have warned that human-driven environmental destruction is killing off our wildlife at staggeringly rapid rates. Have we finally reached our tipping point?
The natural world offers all manner of wonders and delights, but there are horrors too.
Chinstrap penguin populations have declined by 61% since 1980, Amazon river dolphin populations have declined by 65% since 1994, and it is thought that there are only 100 Amur leopards left.
The latest Living Planet Report, which records the state of the natural world, has confirmed our worst fears: we have seen a shocking 73% average decline in wildlife populations since 1970.
Every species has a role in the great webWhen an ecologist injected radioactive carbon into a birch tree, the radioactive carbon moved through the fungal network into an entirely different nearby species, a Douglas fir. of our ecosystem. But if just part of that web breaks, it can have catastrophicInvolving or causing sudden great damage or suffering. implications.
Tackling species loss is a complex issue. Habitat degradationThe process of wearing something down or making it worse. is the biggest threat to wildlife, but the other issues, mostly caused by humans, are endless, from overexploitationThe act of using too much of something, especially a natural resource. and disease to climate change and pollution.
The report warns that we are rapidly approaching a tipping pointThe point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change., where our actions will soon become irreversible.
But it is not too late. We need to reduce food waste, change farming practices, stop overfishing, ditch fossil fuels for good, expand our protected areas and support conservation efforts to bring our world back from the brink.
Can we turn the tide?
Yes! The report authors made it clear that there is still much we can do to turn the tide on the scale of wildlife damage we are seeing.
No! The people with power do nothing to stop further damage. It is not in their interests to act boldly on the climate, so it will not happen.
Keywords
Web - When an ecologist injected radioactive carbon into a birch tree, the radioactive carbon moved through the fungal network into an entirely different nearby species, a Douglas fir.
Catastrophic - Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering.
Degradation - The process of wearing something down or making it worse.
Overexploitation - The act of using too much of something, especially a natural resource.
Tipping point - The point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.
Wildlife numbers down 73% in 50 years
Glossary
Web - When an ecologist injected radioactive carbon into a birch tree, the radioactive carbon moved through the fungal network into an entirely different nearby species, a Douglas fir.
Catastrophic - Involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering.
Degradation - The process of wearing something down or making it worse.
Overexploitation - The act of using too much of something, especially a natural resource.
Tipping point - The point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.