Why are we losing biodiversity?
LIFE ON EARTH IS UNDER THREAT
Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, provides us with services essential for human well-being such as clothing, food and medicines. But we are losing it at an alarming rate.
A million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, we have lost half of the world’s corals and lose forest areas the size of 27 football fields every minute.
Climate change and coral - the threat to our oceans
Coral reef systems are an indicator for healthy oceans, but we have already lost around 50% of warm-water coral reefs. If we do not limit global warming to well below 2°C we could lose the vast majority of coral systems. But what does that mean for us?
Read moreThe fundamental importance of forests
Forests stabilise our climate and without them global temperatures would be 0.5°C warmer. But every year we lose forests about the size of Portugal. Deforestation causes carbon emissions, increases droughts and leads to warmer, drier local climates. It also puts the food security and livelihood of millions of people at risk.
Food systems: the biggest cause of nature loss
We all need to eat, but the intensive and unsustainable way we currently produce food sees us degrade and destroy precious environments that are critical for people and nature. Food production has caused 70% of biodiversity loss on land and 50% in fresh water. It is also responsible for around 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Can we eat meat without harmingpeople and the planet?
Why are we losing nature?
Biodiversity is essential for our health, well-being and economic success. It is essential to understand why nature is in decline in order to alter this path. Five key drivers of biodiversity loss have been identified by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). They are changes in the use of sea and land, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution and invasive non-native species.
Changing use of sea and land
The biggest driver of biodiversity loss is the way in which people use the land and sea. How we grow food, harvest materials such as wood or minerals from the ocean floor, and build our towns and cities all have an impact on the natural environment and the biodiversity that lives there.
Direct exploitation of organisms
The overexploitation of plants and animals, through hunting or poaching for example, is another reason we are losing biodiversity. Overfishing is happening at such a large scale, nearly a third of all monitored global fish stocks are now overfished. If we continue, this would spell disaster for marine ecosystems as well as the more than three billion people globally who rely on fish for their primary source of protein.
Climate change
Climate change is having a dramatic impact on our natural environment. Some species are dying out while others are having to move where they live due to changes in air temperature, weather patterns, and sea levels. As well as being a direct driver of biodiversity loss, climate change also worsens the other drivers.
Pollution
Pollution has reached all types of ecosystems, even those in remote areas. Pollution comes in many forms - from nitrogen and ammonia, caused by intense agriculture, to microplastics found in the deepest parts of the ocean. Pollution hotspots are most prominent in Europe where they pose a threat to terrestrial amphibians, mammals and birds.
Invasive non-native species
Invasive non-native species are those that arrive in places where they historically didn’t live, and out-compete local biodiversity for resources such as sunlight and water. This causes the native species to die out, causing a shift in the make-up of the natural ecosystem.
Find out more: The new invaders threatening the economy and biodiversity of the Mediterranean
EXPLORE MORE
The impact of biodiversity loss
We rely on nature for our food, water, livelihoods and much more but we have pushed it to the tipping point
Fixing the biodiversity crisis
From making food production and trade more efficient to reducing waste, reversing nature loss is possible
How to live more sustainably
From climate change to the extinction of species, we can all be a part of the solutions that help to heal the planet
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