Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

United Nations nature report says a million species at risk of extinction and humans are to blame

byMark Bowling
20 May 2019 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 6 mins read
AA

Under threat: The report found 25 per cent of mammals, more than 40 per cent of amphibian species, nearly 33 per cent of sharks and 25 per cent of plant groups were threatened with extinction.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Under threat: The report found 25 per cent of mammals, more than 40 per cent of amphibian species, nearly 33 per cent of sharks and 25 per cent of plant groups were threatened with extinction.

A MAJOR new United Nations scientific report has warned that one million species were under threat of extinction and that land, seas and skies were exposed to the destructive impact of humans.

The report was released on May 6, just a few days after Pope Francis offered a critique of capitalism’s “disastrous” impact on the environment, calling for a response that hears “the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor”. 

“Economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to (…) the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment,” Pope Francis said speaking to mining executives from around the globe at a conference entitled Mining for the Common Good.

The UN report, the work of 150 scientists from 50 countries, predicted dire consequences for planet Earth unless immediate, remedial action is taken.

“The evidence is incontestable. Our destruction of biodiversity and ecosystem services has reached levels that threaten our well-being at least as much as human-induced climate change,” British Professor Robert Watson said, summarising the report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

The report contains advice for politicians and individuals – and it is implied that action at the polling booths was one way to enact the change needed to sustain the planet.

The report says that while the Earth has always suffered from the actions of humans, the past 50 years has left deep scars.

“We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide,” Prof Watson said.

The report found 25 per cent of mammals, more than 40 per cent of amphibian species, nearly 33 per cent of sharks and 25 per cent of plant groups were threatened with extinction. 

Based on this, the researchers predict one million animal and plant species could die out, many “within decades”.

Related Stories

Catholic groups calling for bold action on climate change

Pope, Holy See back United Nations appeal for truce in Ukraine

East Africa is suffering ‘dire’ drought and facing famine

Preventing this is vital to saving ourselves, the report says, explaining the primary reason for the destruction of habitats is man’s expansion of farms and cities – land use that has left less room for wildlife.

“Ecosystems, species, wild populations, local varieties and breeds of domesticated plants and animals are shrinking, deteriorating or vanishing,” one of the report’s authors Josef Settele said. 

“This loss is a direct result of human activity and constitutes a direct threat to human well-being in all regions of the world.”

The report tallies with the sentiments of Pope Francis as he spoke to mining industry executives from across the globe attending the “Mining for the Common Good” conference.

“We need a paradigm shift in all our economic activities, including mining,” he said.

“Mining, like all economic activities, should be at the service of the entire human community.”

The Pope stressed the importance of assessing the impact of mining projects on local communities.

Besides humanity’s ruinous land use, the UN report highlights other major causes of destruction – the exploitation of wildlife such as hunting; climate change; pollution; and the spread of invasive species. Climate change is set to become ever more destructive.

Humanity’s ravenous appetites are producing a mountain of waste, with plastic pollution increasing ten-fold since 1980.

Every year 300-400 million tonnes of waste – from heavy metals to toxic sludge – are dumped into waterways and oceans.

The report is designed to guide policymakers on conservation and sustainability decisions, and states that “urgent and concerted efforts fostering transformative change” are necessary to halt or reverse the alarming declines in biodiversity.

Prof Watson said although climate change issues tended to be highlighted, it was also necessary for governments to focus on preserving biodiversity.

“Loss of biodiversity is just as important as climate change for the future of mankind,” he said. 

“The two are highly coupled. You can’t deal with climate change without dealing with biodiversity.”

The assessment highlighted the need to adopt sustainable agriculture, forestry and land-use practices. 

Fish are being exploited as never before, with 33 per cent of fish stocks harvested at unsustainable levels in 2015.

Live coral cover on reefs has nearly halved over the past 150 years.

Prof Watson and the panel of scientists who authored the report advocated transformative action, starting with expanding protected areas to shield species and to allow ecosystems to recover.

“We need to secure half of the planet by 2050 with an interim target of 30 per cent by 2030,” scientist Jonathan Baillie, from the National Geographic Society, said.

“Then we must restore nature and drive innovation. Only then will we leave future generations a healthy and sustainable planet.”

The scientists suggested governments needed to move away from GDP (gross domestic product) as a key measure of economic wealth and instead adopt more holistic measures that would reflect quality of life and long-term effects.

They argue that our traditional notion of a “good quality of life” has involved increasing consumption on every level – this now has to change.

Similarly, there must be change when it comes to financial incentives that damage biodiversity.

“Crucially, governments must end the destructive subsidies, including for fossil fuels and industrial fishing and agriculture,” the director of the International Institute for Environment and Development Andrew Norton said.

Transformative action isn’t just for governments, it is up to individuals too, according to the report.

“We know that the way people eat today is often unhealthy for them and for the planet,” one of the report’s authors Dr Kate Brauman said.

“We can become healthier as individuals by eating more diverse diets, with more vegetables, and we can also make the planet healthier by growing that food in more sustainable ways.”

Other authors believe people can make a difference through politics.

“It might be more important for society to invest more in renewables than coal,” Dr Rinku Roy Chowdhury, from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, said.

“So how do you that? Through individual behaviour, through the polling booth.”

Despite the dire predictions, John Wiens, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, said scientists were sanguine about the chances of planet earth to recover.

“It’s not too late – there’s a 10- or 20-year window in which we can still do something,” Prof Wiens said. 

“In the end, all it takes is will. If we decide we want to solve it, we can solve it.”

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Dr Phillip Good writes dying with dignity already exists in palliative and end-of-life care

Next Post

Dedicated Centacare prison chaplains reaching out on the inside to those who need it most

Mark Bowling

Mark is the joint winner of the Australian Variety Club 2000 Heart Award for his radio news reporting in East Timor, and has also won a Walkley award, Australia’s most-respected journalism award. Mark is the author of ‘Running Amok’ that chronicles his time as a foreign correspondent juggling news deadlines and the demands of being a husband and father. Mark is married with four children.

Related Posts

Catholic groups calling for bold action on climate change
Uncategorised

Catholic groups calling for bold action on climate change

27 April 2022 - Updated on 8 May 2022
Pope, Holy See back United Nations appeal for truce in Ukraine
News

Pope, Holy See back United Nations appeal for truce in Ukraine

22 April 2022
East Africa is suffering ‘dire’ drought and facing famine
News

East Africa is suffering ‘dire’ drought and facing famine

20 April 2022
Next Post

Dedicated Centacare prison chaplains reaching out on the inside to those who need it most

Students reclaiming the faith, drawing together campus ministries from across universities

Oakey parish reaches faith centenary, day of festivities shared by the whole community

Popular News

  • Pregnant woman

    Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Answering God’s invitation to us all

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

by Joe Higgins
20 May 2022
0

BRISBANE grandmother Gwendoline Grant has clocked up 15,000 hours cuddling and caring for sick and premature babies...

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping