We have five years left to reverse the ongoing processes.
The world’s largest conservation organization, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), recently released its regular annual report on the state of the Earth’s biosphere. This year, the document turned out to be particularly bleak, since according to its warning, we don’t have much time left to stop the current processes and prevent an extremely unfavorable escalation.
This year’s report warns that if we do not act now, we will soon face irreversible consequences. According to the admonition of the document, we still have 5 years left to stop the complete disappearance of biological diversity, since the population of vertebrate animals has decreased by about a quarter during the past half century.
Wild animal species and their natural habitats are declining at an unprecedented rate. In the last fifty years, researchers have seen a 73 percent decrease in this area, and the process has not stopped.
Weight loss is not uniform in nature. While the rate of reduction is 85 percent for freshwater species, it is 69 percent for terrestrial species. Marine life is third in line with 56 percent. The weight loss is mostly due to food production, but they can also be threatened by various diseases, some invasive species and the effects of climate change.
This in itself does not look good either, but it could have unforeseeable consequences if complete species disappeared. If biological systems are damaged beyond a certain level, it can be fatal for the most basic conditions of existence on Earth. There will not be enough breathable quality air, drinking water, and the composition of the soil will not be suitable for the production of basic foodstuffs.
This could mean a turning point in the near future from which there is no way back, irreparable damage to natural systems. However, according to Dr. Kirsten Shuijt, the international director of the organization, there is still hope, but for that, action must be taken immediately. The next 5 years will be crucial in this respect.
WWF issued an appeal to world leaders in this matter, asking them to develop more ambitious plans than ever before to protect life on earth. For this, biological diversity must be preserved, global overconsumption must be curbed, and greenhouse gas emissions must be curbed. So the task is given, only the deadlines are getting tighter every day.
Source: www.zoldpalya.hu
