A United Nations report claims that the destruction of nature threatens humanity “at least as much as” climate change.
Diplomats from 130 nations gathered in Paris from Monday to discuss the state of nature and lay the groundwork for a rescue plan for life on Earth.
A recent report found that the impact of “humanity’s expanding footprint and appetites has been devastating”.
A 44-page draft, obtained by AFP, claims that “up to a million species face extinction, many within decades”, if we are to continue living the way we currently do.
It found that a third of ocean fish stocks are in decline, and the rest, barring a few, are harvested at the very edge of sustainability.
Bees are also facing a dramatic die-off according to the report, which in turn threatens essential crops valued at half-a-trillion dollars annually.
One of the more damning messages from the report comes via a sentence which reads: “Earth might already be locked into an unliveable future of runaway global warming.”
“Up to now, we have talked about the importance of biodiversity mostly from an environmental perspective,” Robert Watson, chairman of the UN-mandated body that conducted the report in question, told AFP.
He went on to say: “Now we are saying that Nature is crucial for food production, for pure water, for medicines and even social cohesion.”
