Call for action against biodiversity destruction

Monitored wildlife populations such as mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes have seen a devastating 69% drop on average across the world since 1970, said World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Living Planet Report (LPR) 2022.

The report highlights the stark outlook of the state of nature and urgently warns governments, businesses and the public to take transformative action to reverse the destruction of biodiversity.

With its biggest dataset yet, featuring almost 32,000 populations of over 5,000 species spread across the globe, the Living Planet Index (LPI), shows it is within tropical regions where wildlife populations are plummeting at a particularly staggering rate.

WWF is extremely concerned about this trend given that these geographical areas are some of the most biodiverse in the world.

While commenting on the report, WWF Director General Pakistan Hammad Naqi Khan said that Pakistan is home to magnificent wildlife including the Snow Leopard, the Indus River Dolphin, the White-back vulture, the Long-billed vulture, and the Arabian Sea Humpback Whale.

He said that species face multiple threats including habitat loss, illegal wildlife trade, hunting, and pollution as wildlife conservation generally has low priority in Pakistan.

He said that we should undertake collaborative efforts to protect wildlife habitats, address the issue of illegal wildlife trade and restore our fragile ecosystems.

Khan also said that the country experienced unprecedented monsoon rains and floods this year during which more than 1,500 people died while millions were displaced.

He attributed the scale of the floods and the preceding heatwave to climate change, adding that Pakistan is becoming increasingly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. He further emphasised the need to engage various government and non-government stakeholders to develop a joint strategy to lead climate-resilient development.

Khan added that climate change is also fueling biodiversity loss with a decline in species populations, which will impact entire ecosystems, and ultimately our future generations.

The report's shocking figures highlight the interlinked climate and biodiversity crises. In less than a lifetime, monitored freshwater populations have fallen by an average of 83%, the largest decline in any specific group.

Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes are responsible for about half of the threats to monitored migratory fish species.

Moreover, one million plants and animals are threatened with extinction in the world, while up to 2.5% of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and fishes have already gone extinct from the face of the earth.

Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Conservation and Policy Director Dr Andrew Terry said, "The Living Planet Index highlights how we have cut away the foundation of life and the situation continues to worsen. Half of the global economy and billions of people are directly reliant on nature. Preventing further biodiversity loss and restoring vital ecosystems has to be at the top of global agendas to tackle the mounting climate, environmental and public health crises."

He said food production also relies on a healthy and stable natural world, but climate change is projected to decrease productive land and waters, shorten growing seasons, and decrease crop yields.

The report further highlights the need for sustainability in our food systems since they are currently responsible for around 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions, significantly contributing to climate change and pollution.

By adopting nature-positive food production at scale, shifting to healthier, sustainable diets, and eliminating food loss and waste, everyone can be provided with healthy and nutritious food within planetary boundaries, said the report.

World leaders are due to meet at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) this December for a once-in-a-decade opportunity to course-correct for the sake of people and the planet.

WWF is advocating for leaders to commit to an agreement capable of reversing biodiversity loss to secure a nature-positive world by 2030.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2022.