Extract from The Guardian
Wildlife populations
plunge almost 60 per cent since 1970: WWF
Posted about 2 hours ago
Photo:
Climate change, hunting by humans, pollution and invasive species are
posing threats to many species. (ABC News: Kanika Kirpalani)
Worldwide populations of mammals, birds, fish,
amphibians and reptiles have plunged by almost 60 per cent since 1970
as human activities overwhelm the environment, according to the WWF
conservation group.
An index compiled with data from the Zoological
Society of London (ZSL) to measure the abundance of biodiversity was
down 58 per cent from 1970 to 2012 and would fall 67 per cent by 2020
on current trends, the WWF said in a report.
The decline is yet another sign that humans have
become the driving force for change on Earth, ushering
in the Anthropocene epoch, a term derived from "anthropos",
the Greek for "human" and "-cene" denoting a
geological period.
Conservation efforts appear to be having scant
impact as the index is showing a steeper plunge in wildlife
populations than two years ago, when the WWF estimated a 52 per cent
decline by 2010.
"Wildlife is disappearing within our
lifetimes at an unprecedented rate," Marco Lambertini, Director
General of WWF International, said in a statement of the group's
Living Planet Report, published every two years.
"Biodiversity forms the foundation of healthy forests, rivers and oceans," he said in a statement.
"We are entering a new era in Earth's
history: the Anthropocene," he said.
The index tracks about 14,200 populations of 3,700
species of vertebrates — creatures that range in size from
pea-sized frogs to 30-metre-long whales.
The rising human population is threatening
wildlife by clearing land for farms and cities, the WWF's report
said.
Other factors include pollution, invasive species,
hunting and climate change. But there are still chances to reverse
the trends.
"Importantly ... these are declines, they are not yet extinctions," said Professor Ken Norris, Director of Science at ZSL.
Deon Nel, WWF global conservation director, said
it wasn't all bad news.
"I don't speak at all about doom and gloom,
we do see a lot of positive signs," Mr Nel said.
One hopeful sign is a global agreement by almost
200 nations last year to curb climate change could, for instance,
help protect tropical forests, slow a spread of deserts and curb an
acidification of the seas caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide.
And a 2015 UN plan for sustainable development by
2030, seeking to end poverty with policies that safeguard the
environment, would also help if properly implemented.
Some species are making a slight recovery. Last
month, the giant panda was taken off an endangered list after a
population resurgence in China.
Reuters
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