Humanity has wiped out 60% of animal populations since 1970, report finds
The huge loss is a tragedy in itself but also threatens the survival of civilisation, say the worldâs leading scientists
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...r-report-finds
Humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970, leading the worldâs foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.
The new estimate of the massacre of wildlife is made in a major report produced by WWF and involving 59 scientists from across the globe. It finds that the vast and growing consumption of food and resources by the global population is destroying the web of life, billions of years in the making, upon which human society ultimately depends for clean air, water and everything else.
âWe are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliffâ said Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF. âIf there was a 60% decline in the human population, that would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania. That is the scale of what we have done.â
âThis is far more than just being about losing the wonders of nature, desperately sad though that is,â he said. âThis is actually now jeopardising the future of people. Nature is not a ânice to haveâ â it is our life-support system.â
[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTDDtc0WAAAaAzO.jpg[img]
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