THE recently released Living Planet Report-LPI shows that the biological diversity is declining sharply while demands on nature are increasing and have become unsustainable.
Biological diversity means “the variability among living organisms from all sources, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”.
It is a measure of any area’s ecological productivity as it is distributed among a variety of species or conditions; that is a measure of how much nutrition is available to living creatures from solar radiation, nutrient cycling, water and air. It is thus, a matrix revealing how available calories are distributed among plants, bacteria, fungus and animals.
The report shows that species populations worldwide have declined by 52 percent since 1970.
The report was compiled by Worldwide Fund for Nature in collaboration with Global Footprint Network, Water Footprint Network and ZSL Living Conservation.
The report, which looks at the terrestrial, freshwater and marine species, indicates that the major causes for this decline are land uses which include agriculture, urban development and energy production.
It states that terrestrial and the marine LPI declined by 39 percent while the freshwater LPI declined by 76 percent between 1970 and 2010.
“The loss of habitat to make way for human land use, particularly for agriculture, urban development and energy production, continues to be a major threat, compounded by hunting. Changes to water levels and freshwater system connectivity, for example, through irrigation and hydropower dams have a major impact on freshwater habitats,” stated the report.
The report adds that “biodiversity is declining in both temperate and tropical regions but the decline is greater in the tropics. Habitat loss through hunting and fishing are the primary causes of decline. Climate change is the next most common primary threat and is likely to put more pressure on populations in the future”.
“For more than 40 years, humanity’s demand on nature has exceeded what our planet can replenish. We would need the regenerative capacity of 1, 5 Earths to provide the ecological services we currently use”.
Sustainable development has figured prominently on the international agenda for more than a quarter of a Century. People talk earnestly about the environment, social and economic dimensions of development.
However, nations continue to address the economic component at a considerable cost to the environmental one.
But experts opine that social and economic sustainability is only possible with a healthy planet.
Ecosystems sustain societies that create economies and not the other way round.
Trees are being cut faster than they mature, while we harvest more fish than the water-bodies can replenish and emit more carbon than forests and oceans can absorb.
The consequences have been diminished resource-stocks and waste accumulating faster than it can be absorbed or recycled.
With 768 million people without safe clean water supply, 3, 6 billion people living in cities and the human population predicted to swell by two billion, there is need for concerted effort to protect the planet.
The provision of food, water and energy for all these people will be a daunting task if the planet is not taken care of.
Already over a billion people suffer from hunger and 1, 4 billion have no access to reliable electricity supply. The depletion of natural resources will make the situation worse.
There is an urgent need to preserve the natural capital, produce better, consume wisely and redirect financial flows and have equitable resource governance.
The dual effect of a growing human population and high per capita footprint will multiply the pressure we place on our resources.
Worldwide Fund for Nature international director general Marco Lambertini said people had to seize the opportunity to close the destructive trend.
“In a world where people live in poverty, it may appear as though protecting nature is a luxury but it is quite the opposite. For many of the world’s poorest people, it is a lifeline and most importantly, we are all in this together because we all need nutritious food, fresh water and clean air wherever in the world we live,” Lambertini said.
“We must work to ensure that the upcoming generation can seize the opportunity to close this destructive chapter in our history and build a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature.”