Hanoi Customs on September 28 this year seized 960kg of pangolin scales and elephant tusks. (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Humanity and the way we feed, fuel andfinance our societies and economies is pushing nature and the services thatpower and sustain us to the brink, according to the WWF’s 2018 Living PlanetReport.
The report, released last week, indicated that global populations of fish,birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined, on average, by 60 percentbetween 1970 and 2014, the most recent year with available data.
The top threats to species identified in the report are directly linked tohuman activities, including habitat loss and degradation and overexploitationof wildlife.
It also presented a sobering picture of the impact of human activity on theworld’s wildlife, forests, oceans, rivers, and climate, underlining the rapidlyclosing window for action and the urgent need for the global community tocollectively rethink and redefine how we value, protect and restore nature.
“Science is showing us the harsh reality our forests, oceans and rivers areenduring at our hands. Inch by inch and species by species, shrinking wildlifenumbers and wild places are an indicator of the tremendous impact and pressurewe are exerting on the planet, undermining the very living fabric that sustainsus all: nature and bio-diversity,” Marco Lambertini, director general, WWFInternational, said.
Dr. Ben Rawson, conservation director for WWF-Vietnam, said: “Vietnam is notexempt from driving species population declines, both within the country’sborders and beyond.
“Vietnamese demand for ivory and rhino horn from African elephants and rhinohas played a significant part in the decline of these species, fuellinglarge-scale international illegal trade.”
WWF announced the death of Vietnam’s last wild rhino, killed for its horn in2010, and is currently supporting the conservation of the country’s elephantpopulation, which is now reduced to approximately 100 individuals.
In recent decades human activity has also severely impacted the habitats andnatural resources wildlife and humanity depend on such as oceans, forests,coral reefs, wetlands, and mangroves.
Twenty per cent of the Amazon has disappeared in just 50 years while the earthis estimated to have lost about half of its shallow water corals in the last 30years.
While highlighting the extent and impact of human activity on nature, the2018 Living Planet Report also focuses on the importance and value of nature topeople’s health and well-being and that of societies and economies.
Globally, nature provides services worth around 125 trillion USD a year, whilealso helping ensure the supply of fresh air, clean water, food, energy,medicines, and other products and materials.
The report specifically looks at the importance of pollinators which areresponsible for 235-577 billion USD in crop production per year, and how achanging climate, intensive agricultural practices, invasive species andemerging diseases have impacted their abundance, diversity and health.
Evidence shows that the two agendas - for the environment and human development- must converge if we are to build a sustainable future for all.
The report highlights the opportunity the global community has to protect andrestore nature leading up to 2020, a critical year when leaders are expected toreview the progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals, the ParisAgreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The 12th edition of WWF’s biennial flagship publication includes the latestfindings measured by the Living Planet Index tracking 16,704 populations of4,005 vertebrate species from 1970 to 2014.-VNS/VNA
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