If we don't stop the loss of biodiversity, we too will be doomed to extinction

    If we don't stop the loss of biodiversity, we too will be doomed to extinction

    If we don't stop the loss of biodiversity, we will be doomed to extinction. There is no more time. The alarm was raised by the UN number one in terms of biodiversity


    Biodiversity: if we do not stop the loss we risk extinction. Word of the UN




    If we don't stop the loss of biodiversity, we will be doomed to extinction. There is no more time. The alarm was raised by the UN number one in terms of biodiversity.

    The world must immediately find a new agreement to protect nature in the next two years or humanity may be the first species to document its extinction.

    Ahead of the international conference which will discuss the health of ecosystems, Cristiana Paşca Palmer said that people of all countries must lobby their governments and come up with ambitious global goals by 2020 to protect insects, birds, plants and mammals, vital to global food production, clean water and carbon capture.

    "Biodiversity loss is a silent killer," he told the Guardian. “It is different from climate change, the effects of which are visible to people in everyday life. With biodiversity it is not so clear, but by the time you find out what is happening, it may be too late ”.

    Paşca Palmer is executive director of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity - the global body responsible for maintaining the natural life support systems on which humanity depends.

    The 196 member states will meet in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt this month to begin discussions on a new framework for managing the world's ecosystems and wildlife.

    This will usher in two years of frenzied negotiations, which Paşca Palmer hopes will culminate in a new global agreement, to be signed at the Beijing conference in 2020.

    A bit like theParis climate agreement, at the same time we will have to try to manage the loss of biodiversity on a global level, an issue that has received little attention so far, despite having an equally heavy weight for our survival like climate change.



    The last two major biodiversity agreements - in 2002 and 2010 - have failed to contain losses. Eight years ago, under the Aichi Protocol, nations pledged to halve natural habitat loss, ensure sustainable fishing in all waters, and expand nature reserves from 10% to 17% of the world's land by 2020. But many states have not kept their promises, and even those that have created multiple protected areas have done little to control them.

    The issue has also been pushed into the background on the political agenda. Compared to climate summits, few heads of state will participate in biodiversity talks. The United States were absent.

    According to Paşca Palmer all is not lost. Different especially in Africa and Asia have been recovered (although most are in decline) and the forest cover in Asia it increased by 2,5% (although it decreased elsewhere at a faster rate).

    Marine protected areas have also expanded. But overall, the situation is worrying. The already high rates of biodiversity loss resulting from habitat destruction, chemical pollution and invasive species will accelerate over the next 30 years as a result of climate change and an increase in human population.

    By 2050, Africa is expected to lose 50% of its birds and mammals and for fisheries in Asia to completely collapse. The loss of plants and marine life will reduce the Earth's ability to absorb carbon, creating a vicious circle.

    Last month, leading climate and biodiversity institutions and UN scientists held their first joint meeting. They agreed that nature-based solutions - forest protection, tree planting, land restoration and soil management - could provide up to a third of the carbon uptake needed to keep global warming within the agreement's parameters. Paris.


    Climate change and global warming are two sides of the same coin. It will also be discussed at the next G7 summit in France in 2019.


    Changing course is still possible, you just need to want to and keep your commitments. Ours also depends on the survival of animal and plant species.

    READ also:

    • Humanity wiped out 60% of wild animals from 1970 to today. The new study
    • Pando, we are killing one of the largest living organisms on the planet
    • Over 26 thousand species at risk of extinction: the IUCN red list updated

    Francesca Mancuso

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