Study: 1 million species face extinction
Humanity is rapidly destroying the natural world upon which our prosperity 鈥 and ultimately our survival 鈥 depends, according to a landmark UN assessment of the state of nature released yesterday.
Changes wrought by decades of poisoning oceans, soil and air threaten society 鈥渁t least as much as climate change,鈥 said Robert Watson, chair of the 132-nation meeting that validated a summary for policymakers forged by 450 experts.
One million animal and plant species face extinction, many within decades, they reported.
Alarmingly, the accelerating pace at which unique life-forms are disappearing 鈥 already tens to hundreds of times faster than during the last ten million years 鈥 could tip Earth into the first mass extinction since non-avian dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago.
In the short term, humans are not at risk, said Josef Settele, professor of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany and co-chair of the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
鈥淚n the longer term, it is hard to say,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f humans do go extinct, nature will find its way. It always does.鈥
Halting and reversing these dire trends will require 鈥渢ransformative change鈥 鈥 a sweeping overhaul of the way we produce and consume almost everything, especially food, the report concluded.
鈥淲e are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide,鈥 said Watson.
鈥淲e will agree on the best ways to enhance the place of biodiversity on the international stage,鈥 French environment minister Francois de Rugy said at a meeting of G7 environment ministers in eastern France.
Drawing from the 1,800-page report, the executive summary details how our growing footprint and appetites have compromised the natural renewal of resources that sustain civilization, starting with fresh water, air and productive soil.
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