Human consumption causing extinction rates to skyrocket

Nov 04, 2018 News

By Kemol King

For the past few decades, capitalism has developed and thrived with few tangible regulations from national, regional and international bodies to curb the adverse effect of human consumption of the earth’s resources on climate change.
To add to that, humanity’s consumption of natural resources has been executed so haphazardly that it has created an issue just as worrying as climate change: the depletion of the earth’s biodiversity. So posits the Living Planet Index 2018; a report by global advocacy group, World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The report states that “Many scientists believe our ever-increasing consumption, and the resulting increased demand for energy, land and water, is driving a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. It’s the first time in the Earth’s history that a single species – Homo sapiens – has had such a powerful impact on the planet.”
The report, which is based on the study of 16,700 populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, states that there has been an overall decline of 60% in the population sizes of vertebrates between 1970 and 2014.
The Living Planet Index shows that species population declines are especially pronounced in the tropics, with South and Central America suffering an 89% loss compared to 1970. Additionally, almost 20% of the Amazon, referred to as the lungs of the planet, has disappeared in just 50 years.
The report pointed out five major indicators of humanity’s footprint on the earth, namely grazing land, forest product, fishing grounds, cropland, built-up land and carbon.
Overexploitation and agricultural activity, driven by runaway consumption, are the dominant causes of current species loss. Land degradation impacts 75% of terrestrial ecosystems, reducing the welfare of more than 3 billion people, with massive economic costs. Bees, other pollinators and soils – critical for global food security – are under increasing threat.
Overfishing and plastic pollution are threatening oceans, while pollution, habitat fragmentation and destruction have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater biodiversity. In fact, the WWF’s freshwater index shows an 83% decline in freshwater species since 1970.
Strikingly, many of the report’s findings indicate that humanity’s global footprint is much more concentrated in the global north, in countries where consumption doubles or, at times, triples the consumption rates of countries in the global south.
If humanity continues to consume at this rate of annihilation without taking drastic action through global integration of efforts, WWF posits that the harm done to nature will soon rival extinction rates only recorded during mass extinction events.
Mass extinction events, which were responsible for the extinction of dinosaurs, occur when more than 75% of the earth’s species have been annihilated. Earth has only experienced five of these events in its history. Scientists believe that the earth is currently experiencing its sixth mass extinction event, The Great Acceleration.
Despite numerous international scientific studies and policy agreements confirming that the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity is a global priority, worldwide trends in biodiversity continue to decline, the index states.
Ultimately, all economic activity depends on nature. The report estimates that nature provides services worth around US$125 trillion annually for humanity. Humanity’s health, food and security depend on biodiversity. From medical treatments to food production, biodiversity is critical to society and people’s well-being.
A recurring theme occurs throughout the report, that biodiversity is not just a nicety to have, but that it is quite literally the lifeline of humanity.
The report further states that biodiversity will play an essential role in helping human societies cope with the inevitable consequences of rising global temperatures. These include rising sea levels, more extreme rainfall, more frequent droughts and more frequent and intense storms
The report states: “We are the first generation that has a clear picture of the value of nature and the grave situation we are facing. We may also be the last generation that can do something about it. We all have a role to play in reversing the loss of nature – but time is running out.”

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