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Nature is in trouble, warns a new UN report claiming that planet Earth is now on a “path to catastrophe.” With countless species of animals on the brink of extinction, world leaders are being strongly urged to take action immediately.
The latest findings come from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), assembled for the United Nations. The team included 450 experts hailing from 50 different countries.
Without the restoration of various habitats, the researchers say half a million terrestrial species face “insufficient habitat for long-term survival.” As such, they are likely to go extinct in the near future. Ocean life, they say, doesn’t fare any better either.
With the threat of extinction looming over a million species, both plant and animal, our own security is also threatened.
Though while the situation appears to be dire, many scientists agree that there is still time to fix things. However, it would require the cooperation of governments, corporations, and individuals.
Without “transformational change,” the 1,800-page report says that the damage will directly harm the well-being of humankind.
Supporting the report, nearly 600 experts also signed an open letter initiated by the World Wildlife Fund.
“Nature provides us with the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink,” the letter reads. “We depend on it to grow our crops, to source our medicines, to house us and to clothe us. When we destroy nature, we destroy the essentials on which we all depend.”
The experts add, “There is still time to protect what is left and to start restoring nature. But to do that, we must radically change the way we live, including how we use energy to power our societies, grow our food and manage our waste.”
