The world is facing a biodiversity crisis, as one million species of animals and plants are at risk of extinction, according to a new report by the UN.
The report found that many of these species could become extinct within as little as a couple of decades - which means that we could see thousands of species become extinct in the next few decades, and within our lifetime.
What Is The Cause?
The main cause of the biodiversity crisis is simply related to humanity.
The human population has doubled since 1970, and that has had a disastrous effect on the natural world. More humans has resulted in a drastic erosion of our natural world: including ecosystems and wild animals.
A larger human population, has resulted in there being a need for more land for humans to live on and off of. Humans need land to live on for schools, hospitals and homes. But they also need land to live off of to survive, by using land for things such agriculture, and using the oceans and seas for food. A combination of both factors has resulted in the natural world being depleted drastically of ecosystems and wildlife.
How Bad Is The Biodiversity Crisis?
. One million species of plants and animals face extinction
. The biodiversity crisis is as much of a threat to humanity as climate change
. One in four species is at risk of extinction
. Biodiversity loss is responsible for the predicted extinctions
. The global rate of species extinction is worse than it has been for millions of years.
. Marine plastic has increased 10 times since 1980
. 86% of marine turtles are threatened with marine plastic
. 44% of seabirds are threatened with marine plastic
. Marine plastic threatens 43% of marine mammals
. A quarter of amphibians are at risk of extinction
. Humanity has damaged 75% of the worlds land surface
. While 85% of the worlds wetlands have disappeared
These are some of the main points of the biodiversity crisis report.
Sources:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1037941
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rich-countries-must-halt-consumption-un-extinction-report-warns-gdvkdbzs2
https://news.sky.com/story/planet-on-path-to-catastrophe-as-million-species-threatened-says-un-report-11712823