There are two factors that threaten the well-being of humanity: the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity. This is indicated in the 2022 edition of the Living Planet Report, which is published biannually on October 12 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The speed and scale of the negative impact of human activities on nature is manifested in the 69% (average) decline in the population abundance of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians around the world, the publication notes.
Latin America and the Caribbean are one of the regions of the planet where the highest regional decline is recorded, with a 94% decrease in the monitored populations.
The report paints a stark picture of the state of biodiversity and urgently warns governments, businesses and the public to take transformative action to reverse its destruction.
“Globally and regionally we are facing unprecedented environmental changes that bring great challenges for people, regarding their livelihoods, their health and well-being in general. This reality is not alien to Ecuador, which is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, with the wettest region in the entire Amazon and one of the best-preserved volcanic archipelagos, but faces growing pressures on its marine-coastal, aquatic and terrestrial, such as deforestation, pollution, introduction of invasive species and climate change”, said Tarsicio Granizo, director of WWF-Ecuador.
The report monitors nearly 32,000 populations of 5,230 species on the planet and offers the clearest picture of their evolution to date.
The measurement parameter is the Living Planet Index (LPI), which monitors the abundance in populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
The relevance of the registered trends is that it shows a snapshot of the changes in the ecosystems and alerts about their state of health. In the same way, the LPI allows us to observe measures of success when adequate conservation policies are applied, reports the NGO WWF.
In terms of species, freshwater populations show a greater overall decline worldwide, with 83%. For example, one of the assessed populations of the Amazon pink dolphin suffered a 65% decline due to increased selective fishing, as well as pressures imposed by rapid human population growth.
Half of the planet’s corals have been lost, and this has a negative chain impact, as they are home to a quarter of all marine species and support a complex trophic chain that includes humans. While the global abundance of 18 of the 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays has been reduced by 71% in the last fifty years.
The main direct factors identified as responsible for the degradation of terrestrial, marine and freshwater systems are changes in land use, overexploitation of plants and animals, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species.
The report argues that the twin environmental crises can be mitigated by increased conservation and restoration efforts, more sustainable food production and consumption, and rapid and deep decarbonization of all sectors.
The 89 authors who participated in the drafting of the text ask political leaders to transform economies so that natural resources are properly valued. “The report makes it clear that the public and private sectors must change the values and norms that define our relationship with nature, because these have a bias that leads to degradation, through destructive practices that damage the world’s oceans, forests, and wetlands. A transformative approach is urgently needed that also takes into account other factors that contribute to the loss of biodiversity and that include financial matters, such as speculation; economic ones, such as focusing on GDP growth; the sociocultural ones, such as the current patterns of production and consumption; or those related to poor governance”, pointed out Jordi Surkin, WWF conservation coordinator in Latin America.
Latin America is a priority
The report underscores that wildlife abundance trends vary by region, with the tropical regions suffering the greatest decline. Deforestation in the tropics generates carbon emissions and leads to hotter and drier local climates, increasing the number of droughts and fires and, depending on their magnitude, reduces rainfall and modifies its global patterns. This is detrimental to the climate, food security and livelihoods of millions of people globally.
In this sense, ten high-priority areas for risk mitigation are identified, some of them in Latin America: the Amazon Basin (which is made up of all the rivers that drain into the Amazon River), the Atlantic Forest (located in Brazil , Argentina and Paraguay) and the north of the Andes, to Panama and Costa Rica.
The report highlights the situation in the Amazon, the largest tropical forest with the greatest biological and cultural diversity in the world, whose basin is degraded by 17%. It warns that 26% of the Amazon is in a state of advanced disturbance, which implies forest degradation, recurring fires and deforestation. This is a continuous level of destruction with devastating repercussions at the local level and negative implications for the climate stability of the planet, as it stores between 150,000 and 200,000 million tons of carbon.
On the other hand, he points out that 27% of the Amazon corresponds to indigenous territories, and the lowest deforestation rates are found there. The Amazon is home to more than 500 groups of native peoples, including 66 groups in voluntary isolation. Hence, the need to make visible the leadership of native peoples and local communities is accentuated, since their conservation approaches place people-space reciprocal relationships at the center of cultural and care practices. It also includes scientific and ecological knowledge that is transmitted from generation to generation, relevant to avoid natural disasters.
“Ecuador is not only a megadiverse country, but also plurinational and multicultural in accordance with the Constitution, which also recognizes the collective rights of indigenous peoples. However, to stop the impacts of a continuous level of destruction in the Amazon, highlighted in this report, it is essential to continue strengthening capacities at different levels of government, adding the commitment of the private sector and civil society to effectively guarantee that these rights are guaranteed through respect and recognition of their authorities and their own decision-making mechanisms. Compliance with rigorous social and environmental standards is essential to ensure that the territories, livelihoods, and rights of local communities and indigenous peoples are protected,” said Jorge Rivas, WWF-Ecuador director of conservation for terrestrial landscapes.
“To stop and reverse the accelerated loss of biodiversity and its devastating impacts on people, it is imperative to have a radical change in the development model, with comprehensive, ambitious and inclusive measures, at multiple levels and with the involvement of all sectors. , that effectively make it possible to achieve the social, economic and ecological transformation that the country and the planet need. Only by integrating various approaches, including a human rights approach, will we be able to move towards inclusive environmental governance, which guarantees the sustainable use of natural resources and equitable benefits for people, especially for the most vulnerable populations”, added Granizo. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
