UN: One million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction

Around one million plant and animal species worldwide are at risk of extinction, according to a new UN report. Germany's environment minister has described the 1,800-page report as a "wake-up call."

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity, known as IPBES, published the results of a comprehensive, multi-year study on global issues in this area on Monday, April 6, in Paris.

The United Nations agency warned in its latest report that about one million plant and animal species worldwide are at risk of extinction, and many of them may become completely extinct "within a few decades."

According to AFP, researchers involved in preparing the report called for fundamental changes, especially in agricultural and livestock policies.

The 1,800-page report emphasizes that humans are destroying their own livelihoods by destroying forests and coral reefs and eliminating insects, endangering the survival of hundreds of thousands of plant and animal species.

One-eighth of plants and animals are at risk

The total number of animal and plant species in the world is estimated at around eight million. The latest United Nations report suggests that one in eight of these species are at serious risk of extinction.

UN researchers have warned that changing approaches and policies in the fields of agriculture, consumption and the environment is "urgently necessary."

Robert Watson, the executive director of IPBES, believes that species extinction is at least as dangerous as climate change. He warns that “we humans” are destroying the foundations of our economies and livelihoods if we continue in the current state.

According to Watson, the extinction of plant and animal species is a serious threat to “food security, health and quality of life around the world.”

The report emphasizes that insects are more at risk of extinction than other species. The disappearance of many insect species will have a direct impact on nature and various sectors of human life and activity, including agriculture and horticulture.

80% reduction in insects in Europe

Insect populations in Europe are estimated to have declined by about 80 percent over the past three decades. With the new findings, no one can claim "we didn't know" anymore, says Josef Zethele, a biologist at the Environmental Research Center in Leipzig, Germany, and a member of the UN research group's board of directors:

UN researchers have identified humans as the main culprit behind the critical state of biodiversity, saying that agricultural activities, deforestation, excessive mining, fishing, and hunting are the most important causes of the extinction of plant and animal species.

Biodiversity researchers, like climate change activists, have specifically called for sustainable and forward-looking agricultural development, effective limits on fishing, and reform of public funding for environmental conservation.

According to AFP, German Environment Minister Sonia Schulze called the UN report a "wake-up call" and called for an international agreement on species protection similar to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change.

The Social Democratic politician says agricultural subsidies are an "important lever" for making changes to biodiversity, expressing his displeasure that taxpayers' money is currently being spent on environmental destruction.

The UN Biodiversity Report was compiled by approximately 150 researchers from 50 countries over a three-year period. It reviewed and analyzed a large body of research on biodiversity in various countries around the world.

The extinction of plant and animal species knows no borders, and almost all countries and regions of the world are somehow involved and affected by this process. Officials from the National Environmental Protection Agency of Afghanistan announced last month that about 150 animal species in the country are at risk of extinction.

Local studies mostly focus on the extinction of well-known animals and plants. International studies also focus on other species that, although not familiar to the general public, are part of the biodiversity cycle and their disappearance endangers other species as well.

Source: DW