The biodiversity crisis is worsening

The Living Planet Report of the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which was released recently, is another reminder of the biodiversity crisis that has been deepening for decades and is set to worsen in future if the present trends persist. The report showed a massive 69 per cent decline in wildlife populations across the globe during the 1970-2018 period. The decline covers all wildlife forms, including birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish. The list of endangered species is growing longer every day, with the Convention on Biological Diversity stating that “every day, up to 150 species are lost.” The report has tracked over 32,000 populations of 5,230 species across the world. Freshwater populations have declined the most, with an average 83 per cent decline between 1970 and 2018. About 50 per cent of warm water corals have already been lost, and mangroves continue to be deforested by aquaculture, agriculture and coastal erosion.

Also Read | Last eight years on track to be hottest on record, warns WMO as COP27 begins

The report has noted that the main reasons for the decline of wildlife populations are habitat degradation and loss, exploitation, introduction of invasive species, pollution, climate change, and disease. While habitat-related issues are the main reasons now, climate change will emerge as a serious threat in the near-future. And whether it is a loss of habitat or climate change, most of the threats to the survival of other species arise from human activities. The decline of other life forms on earth has been directly proportional to the ascendance of human beings and the human population. The notion that human beings are at the centre of the world and other living beings are meant to serve them is at the root of the biodiversity crisis. If the idea that the earth is as much the home of other living beings as of human beings sinks in and shapes our conduct and activities, the present trend can be arrested. It is in our interest that we should adopt such an attitude. If the presence on earth of other life forms goes below a critical threshold, human beings too will face extinction. The lives of all living things are so interlinked that what happens to one surely impacts others.

According to the report, Latin America and the Caribbean regions have seen the largest decline of monitored wildlife populations, followed by Africa and the Asia-Pacific. In India, a vast part of the Sundarbans have been eroded since 1985, and that has affected the lives of 10 million residents of the area. A large number of animals, birds, fish and insects face extinction in India, and it should be noted that once a life form becomes extinct, it goes away for ever. Governments and other authorities should prioritise conservation efforts and they should become a mass movement to stop the present slide.