Hyderabad: We are living through both climate and biodiversity crises. These have been described as two sides of the same coin, driven by the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources. It is clear: unless we stop treating these emergencies as two separate issues, neither problem will be addressed effectively.
Today we face the double, interlinked emergencies of human-induced climate change and the loss of biodiversity, threatening the well-being of current and future generations. Climate change and biodiversity loss are not only environmental issues, but economic, development, security, social, moral and ethical issues too.
Ecological connectivity is severely threatened by the destruction and degradation of nature that fragments habitats. To counter this, connectivity conservation is rapidly emerging as a solution to restore the movement of species and the flow of natural processes. Land-use change is still the most important driver of biodiversity loss. The cascading impacts of climate change are already affecting the natural world.
Unless we limit warming to 1.5°C, climate change is likely to become the dominant cause of biodiversity loss in the coming decades. Three photo stories explore how communities use their knowledge to adapt to local changes in climate and biodiversity. Forests are critical for stabilising our climate, but deforestation threatens this vital function as well as other ecosystem services including buffering against the impact of heatwaves, and providing freshwater to agricultural lands. Forests store more carbon than all the Earth’s exploitable oil, gas and coal 3,4, and between 2001 and 2019 forests absorbed 7.6 gigatonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year, or about 18% of all human-caused carbon emissions.
Mangroves are unique forests of the sea. They are an important reservoir of biodiversity, and support the livelihoods of coastal communities by providing services such as food and fuel, by underpinning economically-important fisheries, and through cultural services such as ecotourism, education, and spiritual values. Mangroves are also a key nature-based solution to climate change. They contribute to mitigation through sequestering and storing ‘blue carbon’ in their waterlogged soils, at densities exceeding many other ecosystems.
Despite their importance, mangroves continue to be deforested by aquaculture, agriculture and coastal development, at current rates of 0.13% per year. Our well-being, health and economic future are critically dependent on biodiversity and natural systems, and many indicators show that biodiversity is in decline. It is essential that we understand how and why nature is changing in order to alter this path. New mapping analysis techniques allow us to build up a more comprehensive picture of both the speed and scale of changes in biodiversity and climate, and to map where nature contributes most to our lives.
The Living Planet Index acts as an early warning indicator by tracking trends in the abundance of mammals, fish, reptiles, birds and amphibians around the world. The 2022 gobal Living Planet Index shows an average 69% decrease in monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2018. Latin America shows the greatest regional decline in average population abundance (94%).
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Population trends for monitored freshwater species are also falling steeply (83%). New mapping analysis techniques allow us to build up a more comprehensive picture of both the speed and scale of changes in biodiversity and climate, and to map where nature contributes most to our lives. Many fish species migrate to feed and breed, yet this movement is dependent on the connectivity of freshwater ecosystems – which is declining.
Only 37% of rivers longer than 1,000km remain free-flowing over their entire length. When some fish species migrate large distances along these ‘Swimways’ 55, the presence of dams and reservoirs poses a threat to their survival. The LPI of freshwater migratory fish (fish that live in freshwater habitats either partly or exclusively) shows an average decline of 76% between 1970 and 2016, with habitat loss and modifications, in particular barriers to migration routes, accounting for around half of the threats to these populations.
The global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has declined by 71% over the last 50 years, due primarily to an 18-fold increase in fishing pressure since 1970. The Biodiversity Intactness Index estimates how much of an area’s natural biodiversity remains, helping us to understand past, current and future changes to nature. If the BII is 90% or more, the area has enough biodiversity to be a resilient and functioning ecosystem. Under 90%, biodiversity loss means ecosystems may function less well and less reliably. If the BII is 30% or less, the area’s biodiversity has been depleted and the ecosystem could be at risk of collapse.
We know that the health of our planet is declining, and we know why. We also know that we have the knowledge and means to address climate change and biodiversity loss. The landmark recognition in July 2022 by the UN General Assembly of the human right to a healthy environment cements our understanding that climate breakdown, nature loss, pollution and pandemics are human rights crises.
We know that transformational change – game-changing shifts – will be essential to bring theory into practice. There must be system-wide changes in how we produce and consume, the technology we use, and our economic and financial systems. To help us imagine a future where people and nature can thrive, we have explored a number of scenarios and models, such as the pioneering.
Bending the Curve work featured in the Living Planet Report 2020. Researchers are exploring new lenses to add to these models, including climate change impacts, equity and fairness. Linking international trade to its impacts on nature is a key part of bending the curve of biodiversity loss at scale. In addressing these complex, interlinked challenges there is no one-size-fits-all solution. To illustrate this we have collected examples from around the world, ranging from the Amazon to Canada, Zambia, Kenya, Indonesia and Australia.
Humans use as many ecological resources as if we lived on almost two Earths. This erodes our planet’s health and humanity’s prospects. The Ecological Footprint per person is a country’s Ecological Footprint divided by its population. To live within the means of our planet, humanity’s Ecological Footprint would have to be lower than our planet’s biocapacity, which is currently at 1.6 global hectares per person. So, if a country’s Ecological Footprint is 6.4 global hectares per person, its residents’ demand on nature for food, fibre, urban areas and carbon sequestration is four times more than what’s available on this planet per person.
Many contemporary agrifood systems are unsustainable and, as currently governed, not fit for purpose. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, agrifood systems must be transformed to nourish people, nurture the planet, advance equitable livelihoods and build resilient ecosystems.
