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Biodiversity Loss Is 'Wake-Up Call', Warns UN
The UN launches the International Year of Biodiversity on Monday, warning that the ongoing loss of species affects human well-being around the world.
The rate of species loss leads some biologists to say that we are in the middle of the Earth's sixth great extinction, the previous five stemming from natural events such as asteroid impacts. (photo by flickr user _PaulS_) Eight years ago, governments pledged to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but the pledge will not be met.
The expansion of human cities, farming and infrastructure is the main reason.
Dignitaries including German premier Angela Merkel will speak at the launch in Berlin, with a video message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Mr Ban is due to say that human expansion is wiping out species at about 1,000 times the "natural" or "background" rate, and that "business as usual is not an option".
The Secretary-General is expected to argue that the failure to protect biodiversity "should be a wake-up call", leading to effective ways of protecting forests, watersheds, coral reefs and other ecosystems.
The UN says that as natural systems such as forests and wetlands disappear, humanity loses the services they currently provide for free, such as the purification of air and water, protection from extreme weather events and the provision of materials for shelter and fire.
The rate of species loss leads some biologists to say that we are in the middle of the Earth's sixth great extinction, the previous five stemming from natural events such as asteroid impacts.
Cash log
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was agreed at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, alongside the climate change convention.
But it acquired its key global pledge during the Johannesburg summit of 2002, when governments agreed to achieve a "significant reduction" in the rate of biological diversity loss by 2010.
Conservation organisations acknowledge that despite some regional successes, the target is not going to be met; some analyses suggest that nature loss is accelerating rather than decelerating.
"We are facing an extinction crisis," said Jane Smart, director of the biodiversity conservation group with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
"The loss of this beautiful and complex natural diversity that underpins all life on the planet is a serious threat to humankind now and in the future."
A large on-going UN-sponsored study into the economics of biodiversity suggests that deforestation alone costs the global economy $2-5 trillion each year.
In his speech at Monday's event, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) executive director Achim Steiner is due to highlight problems caused by invasive species, and the potential for ecosystems such as forests and wetlands to absorb and store carbon from the air.
The UN hopes some kind of legally-binding treaty to curb biodiversity loss can be agreed at the CBD summit, held in Japan in October.
One element is due to be a long-awaited protocol under which the genetic resources of financially-poor but biodiversity-rich nations can be exploited in a way that brings benefits to all.
However, given the lack of appetite for legally-binding environmental agreements that key countries displayed at last month's climate summit in Copenhagen, it is unclear just what kind of deal might materialise on biodiversity.
Political football
The UN has been pursuing new ways of raising public awareness on the issue, including a collaboration with the Cameroon football team taking part in the African Nations Cup finals.
Many environment organisations will be running special programmes and mounting events during the year.
"The big opportunity during the International Year of Biodiversity is for governments to do for biodiversity what they failed to do for climate change in Copenhagen," said Simon Stuart, a senior science advisor to Conservation International and chair of IUCN's Species Survival Commission.
"They have the chance to make a major difference; and key to this will be halting species extinctions, the most irreversible aspect of biodiversity loss."
WWF is highlighting 10 species it considers especially threatened, ranging from commercially significant ones such as bluefin tuna to the Pacific walrus and the monarch butterfly.
In the UK, the national IYB partnership - hosted from the Natural History Museum (NHM) - is asking every citizen to "do one thing for biodiversity" in 2010.
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24 Comments so far
Show AllPardon me, but this "wake up call" has been sounding for decades, and we've hit the snooze button so many times that this sixth extinction event is well out of our hands (assuming we could have done anything about it even if we had acted when the first alarm sounded). All we can do is whatever we can to lighten the burden we place on the planet--each of us as best as he or she can--and watch it play out.
Destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity is happening all over the world. However, I feel most Americans would be shocked if they knew it was happening in their own back yards. The Appalachian Mountains, a region of great beauty and biodiversity in North America, is being systematically annihilated. These mountains have, or should I say had, some of the most diverse temerate hardwood forests and thriving ecosystems second only to the Amazon itself. Currently, an extreme form of mining, called Mountain Top Removal Coal Minning, is destorying these mountains in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and especially West Virginia, the place Ive called home all my life. Mountain top removal basically blasts away, with tons of explosives every day, at the top of the mountains, once the trees have been bulldozed over, to expose the coal seam. The left over rock and soil, now polluted with blasting chemicals and other toxins, is pushed into adjacent valleys burring headwater streams and polluting others. Thousands of acres of forest and miles of streams have already been sacrificed in the name of coal profit, and for what, just to keep a light bulb burning. And its not just the land being threatened, the civilans who live in these areas are often threatened with violence and even death if they speak out against Mountain Top Removal by Coal Industry Thugs, lead by a person I call the Coal Fuhrer, Massey Energy CEO Don Blankinship. The coal industry wants the outside world to think that we in Appalachia are dumb and dont know whats best for us. We are just people trying to survive and keep our culture intack against oppression. The Appalachian Mountains are facing their own Holocaust. If Americans want to stop the elimination of biodiversity, we have to start in our own back yards. Most are afraid to stand up to the coal industry because they keep us in terror that we might not be able to turn the lights on. If you want more information on MTR Minning, visit ilovemountain.org or friendsofmountains.org, or you can check out my YouTube channel with videos and more links on MTR at youtube.com/user/cardinalsboi22. Speak out against MTR and tell our governemt to ban this destructive form of coal mining. Sometimes the first step in preserving something starts in our own back yards.
Why should Americans be shocked that a mass extinction is occurring in their own back yard? They don't give a damn unless it affects their pocket-book.
You would be surprised what people care about when educated. But sometimes the things we have to pay for doesnt have a dollar sign infront of it. Say, for instance, ones health, culture, and very existance. Its true people are blinded by money. The coal industry tells miners thats its ok to destroy the enviroment as long as they have a paycheck now, but who pays in the future when the land is raped and posioned and entire populations are gone? Lets put it this way, it will effect that pocket-book when the animal the leather came from to make that pocket-book longer exists. There are 3 types of people in the world, those who dont give a damn, those who do give a damn and want to do something about it, and then those who want to give a damn but are so disheartened by those who dont that they feel its worthless too. Its those who are probably the most guilty of all. Remember people, David defeated Goliath, and all it took was the courage to stand up.
Of your three pigeon holes, most, and I mean this most sincerely, most Americans fall into the first category, though they may give some lip-service to environmentalism. These Americans feel they are doing their part by sorting cans and paper into blue trash bins, but bugger everything else.
Watch what happens if someone throws some trash on the sidewalk, and how many hundreds, if not thousands of people will walk by this trash until someone picks up the trash and disposes of it correctly.
I contend that your other 2 categories account for, at most, 5% of the US population.
As long as theres 2.5% that wont sit back and just let it happen anymore and take a stance, then there is always hope. However, there are more of us than one would think.
what a joke how many new species are also being discovered. this is another lie to advance the one world government agenda like global warming. please sheeple open your eyes. i am sure this will be proven to be a money grabbing hoax as well. how's that global warming minus 50 degree tempature working out so far.
So, what you are basically saying is that its ok to eradicate one species as long as new ones are being discovered? Not to add that these "new" species may depend on "old" species to survive. Its called the food chain and circle of life. As for your global warming theory, what we are experiencing now is a normal winter. Something that hasnt really happened in years because of unusually warm weather. Many have become spoiled to the warmer weather that they have forgotten what to do in normal winter conditions. Also, I would like to add that it is quite possible that global warming can cause a cooling trend. When artic ice begins to melt, frigid water mixes with the warm water currents slowing them. Its these warm currents that help regulate the Earths temerature and weather. Therefore, when the warmer currents are slowed or even halted by cold water caused by melting polar ice from warmer weather, colder climates can be produced. Is climate change a natural part of the planets existance, sure. However, doesnt anyone consider we may actually be speeding things up faster than life has a chance to adapt to it? Remember it doesnt always take blistering or artic temperature to disrup an ecosystem that relies on a certian climate. Just a few degrees change may cause irreversable damage. Denial is the cradle of fools. Apply logic, common sense, and deductive reasoning and it all makes sense. Remember, sheep are safer in flocks than they wander off alone, thats when the wolves prey.
note that newly discovered does not equate with a totally new species. just because we have never given a name to some microbe (and thats typically what the newly discovered taxa are) does not mean it did not previously exist.
on the other end, when we observe extinction that is truly what we see: the permanent, irrecoverable loss of a species.
weather is not climate.
Last point first, check out "After the Warming" by James Burke. It documents how the ice cores samples have shown the warming events of history taking thousands of years until a 'cascade point' is achieved, and then the cooling events take decades to reach a full ice age. Normal temperature and precipitation fluxuations can seem drastic in any event, so one or two colder years does NOT negate a warming trend.
As for species extinction events, I fail to see how anybody could just say "so what". Yes, there has always been a normal cycle where species have gone extinct without any influence from mankind, and new species evolve. BUT, what we are seeing occur are diminishing of species caused by human intervention. Some of these species are the very pollinators we rely on for a large portion of our food supply.
The protection of the environment and ecosystems should NOT be a partisan subject. period. Every human should want to do as little harm as possible, irrespective as to one's party affiliation. What we see happening is one major party polarizing the subject in an attempt to discredit the other major party. I too lean towards the Libertarian stance, but recognize that in the name of "private industry" certain segments of our soiciety have been given a pass when it comes to being good stewards of the earth. Using our oceans and land fills as toxic dump sites and playing God with animal and plant genetics will have to be addressed at some point.
You plead to people to "open your eyes". Part of this may well be "money grabbing", but it is NOT all a hoax. Just because one dislikes the messenger does not discredit the message.
Please, "itsanotherlie," study a little biology. It's not that hard, and you might develop some substance to help prevent you from making more asinine statements.
Global Warming minus 50 degree temperature? I hate to tell you this but according to the World Meteorological Organization the first decade of the 21st century is the hottest on record and this year will likely be the fifth hottest. Over at the University of Montana, they've found that over the past 22 years the acreage burned by wildfire is six times that average of the 16 years before that. If that's a lie I'd hate to see what you call the truth--total destruction of the western forests?
I'm going to close my eyes and, when I open them again, I know this comment (along with all the idiots that spew crap like this) will be gone.
Three, two, one...
First, we cannot understand the do nothing approach without being aware of the large percentage of Americans who think like the idiot who posted here [itsanotherlie, above]. Secondly, all the wonderful research that is being done is systematically buried by the DC establishment. Scripps California, for instance, sent out a ship to document the plastic garbage accumulation in the N Pacific gyres. Their work is funded, in part, to give policy makers 'the proper tools'. All research such as this, and the educational research I did in the 70s, is simply buried and ignored. It is good that such research is funded, but its purpose is not to accrue information, but rather to keep criticism at bay while 'research is being assessed'. There is only one policy in Washington D C, and that is to funnel as much cash as possible out of the hands of taxpayers and into the hands of the wealthy. War provides a very nice excuse for that to happen, and historically has worked better than anything else. We can write letter until hell freezes over. We can protest until the seas have risen to cover our coastal cities. We can yell, scream, and wave signs. Nobody in D.C. will care. They don't have to. I am afraid it is going to take a much more 'hands on' approach. The much vaunted American Revolution was formulated, fought and achieved by less than 30% of the total Colonial population.
Or,... we can just wait for Gaia to do the job for us. The problem there is that we don't know when that will happen. It could happen next week [as it is, after all, the southern hemisphere summer] or next year or fifty years from now. The fact that it is going to happen is pretty clear. When people ask what can be done about it, I hardly ever suggest the truth. Three billion bodies are too gruesome.
I agree with you for the most part MichaelC, however I dont think physical war is the answer. Intelligence and education are the keys. More can get done by civil disobediance than violence. Civil disobediance give the opportunity to educate. The forefathers of this nation used their intelligence way before they picked up a gun and this country was founded more on civil disobediance than violence, tho it does have its role. By threatening or even thinking of violence as a solution at this point makes one no different than, say, the coal industry thugs who oppress those living in Appalachia by using threats of harm or death. Remember, this is a government "FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE," and we do need to take it back, intelligently, or we are no better than they. We cannot lower ourselves to their standards or we too will lose. But you are right, sitting around waiting for a change doesnt make it happen.
Ah, yes, the old 'educate the masses' argument. I spent a few years as a teacher - pretty successfully, too. But no matter what is said in schools, the hours spent in front of the idiot box win back most of the lost ground. As long as there is a tv set in half the rooms of 98% o all homes, the argument for 'education' is a dead end. As for intelligence - we elected a Reagan twice, a Bush three times and now an Obama. Ours is NOT a government for the people, by the people. Maybe it never was. Today it is most certainly a government for the corporations, by the corporations. Our only hope is to run a bypass and elect no dems or repubs, and then help those reps any way we can. That we MIGHT be able to do. But the laws are being retrofitted as we write to throw electoral donations wide open again to corporations. The right is monolithic in its determination, while we progressives argue like we are doing here. No contest. So our options are?
People CAN learn and CAN change. Last year, when someone asked me about the enviroment I would have probably laughed. I was one of those here in Appalachia who believed alot of the coal propaganda. I believed that Mountain Top Removal was sporatic and possibly a "necassary evil" and that the "restoration" was an OK process like they want people to believe. Then, I had my eyes opened. I seen the devistaton from thousands of feet in thw air. A unique perspective considering those who often start these MTR sites try to locate them in areas where many people cant really see what theyre doing. They use "out of site, out of mind" tactics like that of carbon sequestering underground or locking nuclear waste underground, out of site no one cares. When I seen their true face, I was disgusted and angered and chose to join those other masses who came to the same conclusion I did, and I decided to take a active stance to end Mountain Top Removal. I still have faith in out Forefathers dream and I still believe in the basic princapals of the US Constitution, tho it has been twisted for political and monitary gain. And as long as those who decide to fight rather than accept it, then there is always hope
It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature
Has anyone else noticed that environmental articles on CD draw fewer comments than most other articles when, in fact, the environmental crisis subsumes every other problem combined? Why is that?
"The expansion of human cities, farming and infrastructure is the main reason (for loss of biodiversity)."
It is difficult for most of us to connect with "loss of biodiversity" or "climate change" although the BBC article spells out the detrimental effects to humans.
It used to be called "pollution" when I was growing up.
Our air, water and land are being "polluted" but we also share the air, water and land with the bees, polar bears, wolves and other life that not only is entitled to an environment free of pollution but also contributes to our lives.
Factory farming is a major factor in pollution or greenhouses gases; 51% of greenhouse gases are attributed to livestock.
All of us have a part to play in this scenario and we all have a responsibility to our fellow human beings and to the environment.
Please see www.worldwatch/org/ww/livestock for studies that show the negative impact of farmed animals on our lives.
Substituting healthy proteins (beans, nuts, potatoes, grains, tempeh, seitan, vegetables and more) in place of animal products will vastly improve our health and the planet's health.
Are we just complaining or are we making the effort to effect real change as greens, progressives and environmentalists?
You tell me.
"Factory farming" is a problem in both the plant and animal kindoms, as I'm sure you're aware. The farming methods used for plants promote soil erosion and depletion of nutrients.
As to your question.... I believe that there is a real growing consciousness as to the necessity to go green, but the growth is slow. Perhaps too slow. To that add the mis-information intentionally given out by the ultra-right wing, the population growth, the falling world economy that promotes dirty industries... At times the battle seems lost. But, irrespective of all else, we must maintain our hope, faith, and charity.....
Yeah, right! Wanna bet on that one?
The idiots think that the freezing temps we've had in the past couple of weeks are a sure sign that global warming is a hoax. How could it be real if is it's getting colder? C O L D E R, get it? Cold is the opposite of warm, consequently, NO GLOBAL WARMING! Proof perfect!
How exactly would you expect the ignoramuses that rationalize as above to see the dissappearance of a few bugs here and there as a sign of anything?
-----------
EDIT:
And as if to prove my point, I scrolled down the comments and looky here what I found:
"itsanotherlie January 11th, 2010 11:50 am
what a joke how many new species are also being discovered. this is another lie to advance the one world government agenda like global warming. please sheeple open your eyes. i am sure this will be proven to be a money grabbing hoax as well. how's that global warming minus 50 degree tempature working out so far."
If you were to scroll down and read my comment on climate change you would see how global warming can cause a cooling trend. And again, I restate, this is normal winter weather that we have not experianced due to the unusually warmer temperatures. In the past 20 years there has been a noticable change. Also, loss of diversity isn't just a result of climate change tho that is the smoke screen they want you to believe. In the case of the Appalachian Mountains, its biodiversity is being destroyed by Mountian Top Removal Coal Mining. Biodiversity in the Amazon is being lost due to deforestation, and biodiversity in streams/oceans are being lost because of pollutants. They try to delfect one issue with another to confuse people.