Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity. Biodiversity is everything. Any topic we touch on, such as global warming, climate change, sustainable economy, depends on it, since it is, for better or for worse, the recipient of our mistakes, successes or omissions.
It is a good opportunity to update us on what has happened in recent years in this area. To this end, and continuing our philosophy "Sowing climate awareness", we highlight some points of interest on the subject.
There are two very worrying pieces of information that have come to light recently: one refers to the danger of extinction that hangs over a million species. Yes, a million! The other tells us about the decrease in the population of vertebrates (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians), by 60% between 1970 and 2014. These two pieces of information alone explain the title of this article.
Why is the International Day for Biological Diversity celebrated on May 22?
During the Second Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, 1992, organized by the UN, the need to preserve biodiversity according to sustainability criteria was discussed. It was at this conference that the International Convention on Biological Diversity was promulgated, approved in Nairobi on May 22, 1994, then declared by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2000 as International Day for Biological Diversity, which was celebrated every year on May 22. However, despite the good intentions expressed in summits, conferences, conventions, agreements and celebrations, it has not been possible to preserve biological diversity. Rather the opposite has happened, as we will see in this article.
What is and how is Biodiversity defined?
The International Convention on Biological Diversity defines biodiversity as the enormous variety of living things on Earth, the result of hundreds of millions of years of species evolution, but it also includes species created through unnatural processes by humans. Biodiversity also includes the variety of ecosystems and "the genetic differences within each species that allow the combination of multiple forms of life, and whose interactions with the rest of the environment support the livelihood of life on our planet."
Did you know that the vertebrate population has decreased 60% since 1970?
According to the World Wide Foundation (WWF) “Living Planet” Report, whose main data we have taken from the newspaper El País, the populations of vertebrates (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians), has decreased by 60% between 1970 and 2014. For the most part they are "directly related to human activities, including habitat loss and degradation and overexploitation of wild fisheries". The Living Planet Index (IPV) measures the trends in 16,704 populations of 4,005 vertebrate species in the period studied. A sample that, although it is not a census of all wildlife, as WWF indicates, "but reports" the current status of the species. He further maintains that "nature and the services that provide us with energy and sustenance are being pushed to the limit."
The most extreme cases are found among the groups of fauna studied in fresh waters. Since 1970 these have decreased 83%, "the highest extinction rate" in the 20th century among the planet's vertebrates. This decline is especially pronounced in the tropics. The NGO points to Central and South America, with a drop of 89%. However, in a 2011 report, which SGK-Planet maintains in its files, we read that "Spain eats its fishing quota in four months."
What are the causes of the decrease in the world population of vertebrates?
The WWF IPV report identifies as the main cause of the "serious decline in biodiversity", the "uncontrolled production and human consumption, responsible for the overexploitation of ecosystems and agriculture, in addition to pollution, invasive species and diseases o climate change. Marco Lambertini, CEO of WWF International, has indicated that "the enormous pressure" exerted on natural resources "is threatening the living structure that supports humanity."
What are the dangers of declining biodiversity?
If we stick to the previous paragraphs, and if it is not possible to stop the precipitous fall of biodiversity, we could witness a mass extinction of plants and animals with incalculable consequences for life on Earth. In this case, thousands of food or food chains would break due to this great extinction, and a domino effect could be unleashed on the surviving species. The extreme scarcity of food and other resources would suppose the apocalypse, from which homo sapiens would not be spared either.
What can we do to stop the decline in biodiversity?
The question is not knowing what we are going to do in the matter, since there are lists and lists of this, which have been nothing more than "wish lists" unfulfilled. The problem is to carry out the commitments made on such a sensitive issue. The agreements are nothing more than a long chain of failures that already cover almost two decades. Humanity has failed, it must be said. Some people have failed due to lack of action and others due to omission, as can be seen in the relationship that we present below, which could well be called "Chronicle of humanity's breaches of biodiversity". Let's see:
2002. At the UN-organized South Africa Summit, more than 190 countries set out to significantly halt the loss of biodiversity on the planet by 2010.
2010, May, 10. The third edition of the study “Global Biodiversity Outlook” presented in Nairobi, Kenya, concludes on this date. The document notes that the South African agreements have not been followed. Warns of the impact of this inaction on sustaining man's life on Earth. It calls for immediate action, and states that 170 countries currently have national plans to curb this loss of biodiversity. Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Program, said: “We have fabricated the illusion that we can somehow remain without biodiversity, or that it is secondary in the modern world. However, the reality is that we need it more than ever on a planet of six billion people that will be nine billion in 2050.
2019, March, 15. After five days of negotiations at the fourth United Nations Environment Assembly, once again in Nairobi, ministers from more than 170 UN Member States presented a bold plan for this transformation. They agreed that the world needs to accelerate the move towards a new development model, to respect the vision set out in the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said: “The world needs to act now to tackle record levels of degradation environmental, food insecurity, poverty and unemployment. "The current global statistics are quite alarming and the projections for future generations are dire, and they demand urgent action from governments, communities, businesses and individuals." Will there be compliance this time?
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