The WWF document on the occasion of Earth Day. In Italy, 50% of vertebrate species, 36% of amphibian species and 25% of bird species are threatened with extinction, particularly due to land consumption
“A million species are at risk of extinction, we are burning the richness of life on our planet” and “due to fires and deforestation, part of the Amazon forest emits more CO2 than it can absorb”. The Wwf on the occasion of the Earth Day
which is celebrated all over the world on 22 April with the document «A planet in balance». In particular, the report reads, “75% of the earth’s surface not covered by ice has already been significantly altered, most of the oceans are polluted and more than 85% of wetlands have been lost” (here the complete report ).
The data of the last Living Planet Report they certify the dramatic decline in biodiversity: 68% the average decline in vertebrate populations over the past 50 years. About 25% of the 93,579 species for which conservation status is assessed (included in the IUCN Red List), is currently threatened with extinction. The most important direct factor behind the loss of biodiversity in recent decades has been the change in land use and, mainly, the conversion of pristine primary habitats into agricultural systems: agriculture now consumes 40% of the earth’s surface, and it is responsible for 23% of greenhouse gas emissions. This conversion of the soils occurs to the detriment above all of the forest ecosystems, which are home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity: in the 21st century, 10% of the global forest area was lost (about 10 million hectares per year). From July 2020 to July 2021, deforestation in the Amazon increased by 22% compared to the previous year. The WWF document also analyzes the Italian situationwhere 50% of vertebrate species, 36% of amphibian species and 25% of bird species are threatened with extinction, in particular due to soil consumption (here the Legambiente handbook to save the planet).
Human activities are guilty of the unstoppable loss of # biodiversity of the #ecosystems
75% of the earth’s surface not covered by ice has already been altered and most of the #oceans they are polluted
?https://t.co/ORLm0DTYLv#EarthDay ? #22aprile pic.twitter.com/bsafUicQlD— wwfitalia (@WWFitalia) April 22, 2022
As for the species in severe conservation crisis, the document focuses on some of them:
– The lion, considered “threatened” by the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it has disappeared from 80% of its original range and is present in Sub-Saharan Africa and northwestern India. The species has undergone a strong reduction in Africa in the last two decades, going from about 100 thousand to less than 30 thousand individuals. A highly endangered subspecies lives in India (Panthera leo persica), with a small nucleus of about 674 animals.
– While the savannah elephant that is considered “in danger” of forest it is even “critically endangered”, the highest level of alarm, in the risk categories of the IUCN. The most important threats to pachyderms are the climate crisis, and the consequent increase in heat waves and droughts; poaching, largely due to the demand for ivory; habitat loss and conflicts with the local population. There are just over 400,000 African elephants left in the wild: in the last 50 years the savannah elephant population has suffered a 60% decline, while the forest elephant population has even decreased by 86% in the last 30 years.
– From recent studies they have been well recognized 9 tiger subspecies (Panthera tigris): of these – the report reads – 3 became extinct during the twentieth century and 6 are still extant. These are the Sumatran tiger, the South China tiger, the Malay tiger, the Indochinese tiger, the Bengal tiger and the better known Siberian tiger. All 6 tiger subspecies are classified by the IUCN as “endangered” or “critically endangered”. In the last 150 years, due to poaching and habitat destruction, the number of tigers has decreased by 95%: despite some timid signs of recovery in recent years, today fewer than 4 thousand specimens are estimated in the wild.
– Sharks and rays: according to the IUCN – while playing a very important role within marine ecosystems – 37% of elasmobranch species, such as sharks and rays, are threatened. In particular, more than half of the shark species are considered to be at risk of extinction. The waters of the north-western Mediterranean have been the most involved in local extinction events, particularly Italy, France and Spain, countries where the effects of pollution, climate change, unsustainable fishing activities and bycatch (as the bycatch of species during fishing is defined) have overlapped.
– The cetaceans they play an important role in the balance of marine ecosystems, because they occupy the top of the food chain and contribute to keeping the populations of the fauna they feed on in numerical balance. However, their number is continuously decreasing and, according to the IUCN, 14 species are threatened with extinction worldwide. It is estimated that around 300,000 cetaceans per year die from bycatchthe most significant threat to their conservation.
– Il
jaguar, with only 170 thousand specimens left in nature, it is an umbrella species as well as a symbol of the Amazon, one of the richest environments in biodiversity in the world. However, the species is currently classified by the IUCN as close to the threat of extinction, showing a decreasing population trend. The Amazon is the elective habitat of this feline – 50% of the population can be counted only in the Amazon basin in Brazil – and the deforestation of recent decades has severely tested its survival: in recent years the jaguar has lost more 50% of its habitat, of which 15% “only” in the last decade.
– Pollinators play a key role in maintaining biodiversity (here we talked about bees, queens of biodiversity)
. Taking bee species into consideration, the IUCN estimates that about 9.2% of them are threatened with extinction. Population trends show that 7.7% of European bee species are decreasing, while only 0.7% show positive trends.
The demographic trends of 79% of the species, on the other hand, remain unknown due to a lack of sufficient data. Furthermore, about 30% of threatened species are endemic at the European level.
April 22, 2022 (change April 28, 2022 | 07:29)
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