Continuous Loss of Biodiversity

The incredible growth in population, the global economy and consumption- what scientists call the Great Acceleration- has in just the last five decades fundamentally altered the Earth’s intrinsic systems. Despite positives like increasing lifespans and the rise of the middle classes, this leap has come at a huge cost, especially in terms of loss of biodiversity. That is cause for some alarm since biodiversity is key to the life on Earth. The Living Planet Index compiled by WWF explains why ‘Humans’ are stretching nature too think, jeopardising biocapacity.

‘Biocapacity’ is measured in global hectares (gha), is the ability of an ecosystem to renew itself and ‘ecological footprint’ is a measure of our consumption of natural resources. Together biocapacity and ecological footprint allow is to compute whether humanity is living within the means of the planet.

Biocapacity has increased by 27% in the past 50 years with new technology and land management practices. But so has our ecological footprint has grown 190%, nearly 10 times the growth rate of biocapacity in the same period. $125 trillion value of services provided by nature, comprising resources like fossil fuel, land for agriculture etc.

Since 1970, biodiversity has only been headed one way: Down- The Living Planet Index tracks the state of global biodiversity and the planet’s health, taking into account the populations of thousands of mammal, bird, fish, reptile and amphibian species. It recognizes five types of threats. ‘Habitat loss’ is the most commonly recorded threat, followed by ‘over-exploitation’, which combined account for two thirds of all threats.

60% decline in biodiversity between 1970 and 2014, according to latest index.

89% decline in South and Central America, the most dramatic decline in the latest index.

75% of all plant, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal species that have gone extinct since 1500 CE were harmed by over-exploitation or agriculture or both.

There is huge pressure on Earth, and that’s bad for human. Only about 30% of Earth is covered in forests but they are home to 80% of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. Large scale farming has destroyed 40% of forests between 2000 and 2010 in tropical and subtropical countries. Since 1971, global production of wheat and rice have grown 116% and 133%, respectively, to meet rising food demand and a growing population, expected to hit 9.8 billion in 2050.

Matter Referenced:  Times of India, Ahmedabad, Tuesday, 4th December, 2018.

By: Dr. Bhawana Asnani.

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