UN Biodiversity Chief: Humans Risk Living in an 'Empty World' With 'Catastrophic' Consequences
20 January 2020
Popular
Logging state in the U.S. is seen representing some of the consequences humans will face in the absence of concrete action to stop deforestation, pollution and the climate crisis. Mark Newman / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images
Talk is cheap, says the acting executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, who begged governments around the world to make sure that 2020 is not another year of conferences and empty promises, but instead is the year to take decisive action to stop the mass extinction of wildlife and the destruction of habitat-sustaining ecosystems, as The Guardian reported.
<p><a href="https://www.cbd.int/secretariat/executive-secretary/" target="_blank">Acting Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema</a> warned that the absence of concrete action to stop <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deforestation" rel="noopener noreferrer">deforestation</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer">pollution</a> and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate crisis</a> will mean that humanity has given up on the planet. </p>
<p>Mrema who grew up in Tanzania near Mount Kilimanjaro has seen the streams near her childhood home dry up, turning a fertile forest into bare land, she said to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/humans-risk-living-in-an-empty-world-warns-un-biodiversity-chief-aoe" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>Her stark assessment of an empty world came just ahead of the Davos World Economic Forum, which starts on Wednesday. The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/davos-thunberg-trump-climate-change-2644863489.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate crisis is expected</a> to take center stage.</p>
<p>The World Economic Forum said this year that climate-related risks overshadow all other risks, and it placed loss of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" rel="noopener noreferrer">biodiversity</a> as the third biggest risk to the world, ahead of infectious diseases, terrorism and war between countries. It was only outranked by other climate-related threats, with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather" rel="noopener noreferrer">extreme weather</a> as the top threat, followed by a failure to adapt and mitigate the climate crisis, according to the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/what-s-missing-from-the-2020-global-risks-report/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</p>
<p>"For the first time in the history of the Global Risks Perception Survey, environmental concerns dominate the top long-term risks by likelihood among members of the World Economic Forum's multistakeholder community," according to the executive summary of the Forum's <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-report-2020/executive-summary/" target="_blank">2020 Global Risks Report</a>. </p>
<p>Mrema is tasked with creating an international agreement to protect nature on the scale of the 2015 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris agreement</a>. She noted in urgency that the disappearance of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coral-reefs" rel="noopener noreferrer">coral reefs</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rainforests" rel="noopener noreferrer">rainforests</a> and other life supporting ecosystems will lead to an "empty world" and have "catastrophic" consequences for societies, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/humans-risk-living-in-an-empty-world-warns-un-biodiversity-chief-aoe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>"People's lives depend on biodiversity in ways that are not always apparent or appreciated. Human health ultimately depends on ecosystem services: the availability of fresh water, fuel, food sources. All these are prerequisites for human health and livelihoods," she said to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/humans-risk-living-in-an-empty-world-warns-un-biodiversity-chief-aoe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a> in an exclusive interview. </p>
<p>Scientists have warned that human-activity is fueling the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sixth-mass-extinction" rel="noopener noreferrer">sixth mass extinction</a> in history as animals and plants are disappearing at rates tens to hundreds of times faster than at any point in the last 10 million years. In fact, researchers predict that nearly 1,000 species will be lost over the next century and animal size will decrease 25 percent, as conditions favor smaller more adaptable animals, according to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-shrinking-animals-2638682794.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">EcoWatch</a>. </p>
<p>In October, governments will meet in China to formalize an agreement on protecting biodiversity. The draft proposal released last week calls for a modest commitment to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/un-biodiversity-sixth-mass-extinction-2644807009.html?rebelltitem=1">protect at least 30 percent of the planet</a>, controlling invasive species and reducing pollution from plastic waste, according to the draft from the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/post2020/wg2020-02/documents" target="_blank">Convention on Biological Diversity</a>, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/humans-risk-living-in-an-empty-world-warns-un-biodiversity-chief-aoe" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p>
<p>Mrema told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/humans-risk-living-in-an-empty-world-warns-un-biodiversity-chief-aoe" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> she hopes the attendees will negotiate a more rigorous and ambitious agreement. However, if this modest one fails, the consequences will be dire.</p>
<p>"The risks will be major," she said to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/humans-risk-living-in-an-empty-world-warns-un-biodiversity-chief-aoe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. "One is that we will not have listened to the science and the evidence provided. Because we will not have listened, it means the global community will have said: let biodiversity loss continue, let people continue to die, let the degradation continue, deforestation continue, pollution continue, and we'll have given up as an international community to save the planet. I hope that's not where any of us would want to be."</p>
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UN Wants to Protect 30% of the Planet by 2030 to Stop the Sixth Mass Extinction
14 January 2020
Popular
Giraffes in the Serengeti. Harvey Barrison / CC BY-SA 2.0
The United Nations wants to stop the sixth mass extinction.
<p>In a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/efb0/1f84/a892b98d2982a829962b6371/wg2020-02-03-en.pdf" target="_blank">draft proposal</a> released Monday, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity proposed protecting 30 percent of the planet by 2030, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/14/world/un-biodiversity-draft-plan-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>.</p><p>"If adopted, this target could achieve what our children have been calling on governments to do – listen to the science," explorer-in-residence at National Geographic Enric Sala told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/13/un-draft-plan-sets-2030-target-to-avert-earths-sixth-mass-extinction-aoe" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "If we are to stay below 1.5C (34.7F), prevent the extinction of 1 million species and the collapse of our life support system, we need to protect our intact wilderness, and ensure at least 30% of our land and oceans are protected by 2030."</p>
<div id="b07c7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="KJUANF1579008644"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1216507109690441729" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">JUST RELEASED‼️ 'Zero Draft' of the #post2020 global biodiversity framework
Get your first look at the text that w… https://t.co/5zZI598CcE</div> — UN Biodiversity (@UN Biodiversity)<a href="https://twitter.com/UNBiodiversity/statuses/1216507109690441729">1578872871.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The protection of vulnerable ecosystems is only one of a 20-part plan to address <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> loss this decade, with the hope of enabling ecosystems to recover by 2050, CNN explained.</p><p>Other 2030 goals include:</p><ul><li>Reducing the introduction rate of invasive species by 50 percent and reducing their impact in 50 percent of the places they are already present</li><li>Reducing nutrient, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides" target="_self">pesticide</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic-pollution" target="_self">plastic pollution</a> by at least 50 percent</li><li>Making sure the human use and trade of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> is sustainable and legal</li><li>Using nature-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> to achieve 30 percent of the carbon-dioxide reductions required by the Paris agreement</li></ul><p>The draft is set to be adopted by world leaders at an October summit in Kunming, China, The Guardian explained. However, it follows a similar agreement reached in Aichi, Japan in 2010 that most countries failed to meet.</p>
<p>The draft comes a little more than six months after a UN study issued a dire warning about the state of the earth's biodiversity, finding <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/biodiversity-report-ignored-2638037822.html" target="_self">that one million species</a> could go extinct. The situation has been made even more urgent by the devastating wildfires in Australia, which have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/australia-wildfire-deaths-2644394434.html" target="_self">killed more than one billion animals</a>, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/united-nations-draft-biodiversity-framework_n_5e1c8ecbc5b6da971d19f17d?ri18n=true" target="_blank">HuffPost pointed out</a>. Because of this, some environmental groups think the draft proposal does not go far enough.</p><p>"We are witnessing whole swaths of a continent burning ― devastating entire species before our eyes ― and the need for dramatic change could not be more blatant," Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, chief program officer at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, said in a statement reported by HuffPost. "To reverse the cataclysmic changes occurring in nature, countries around the globe must heed scientists, who warn that heading off this rapid decline will require transformative action."</p><p><a href="https://www.campaignfornature.org/" target="_blank">Campaign for Nature</a> Director Brian O'Donnell, meanwhile, told The Guardian that the draft was a good "first step."</p><p>"Much work remains to be done in the coming months to ensure that the rights of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self">indigenous</a> people are advanced, and bold <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> and finance targets are included in the final agreement," he said.</p><p>One of the draft's 20 goals does call for promoting the "full and effective participation" of indigenous communities, as well as women and young people, in conservation decision making.</p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Study urges conservation push for critically endangered black rhinos. CC0 1.0
With the consequences of human activities pushing Earth into a sixth mass extinction, a team of biologists have calculated that plant and animal species are being wiped out so quickly that evolution cannot keep up.
Human activities—including pollution, deforestation, overpopulation, poaching, warming oceans and extreme weather events tied to climate change—are predicted to drive so many mammals to extinction in the next five decades that nature will need somewhere between 3 to 7 million years to restore biodiversity levels to where it was before modern humans evolved, according to an alarming new analysis published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
<p>
The study's authors, who hail from Aarhus University in Denmark and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, are urging drastic conservation efforts.
</p><p>
"It is much easier to save biodiversity now than to re-evolve it later," lead author Matt Davis of Aarhus University said in a
<a href="https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-10/au-mce101118.php" target="_blank">press release</a>.
</p><p>
For the study, the researchers combed through an extensive database of mammals that includes existing species and species that lived in the recent past but have gone extinct since the rise of Homo sapiens. They determined that in the 130,000 years that humans have wandered the planet, we've erased 2.5 billion years-worth of evolutionary development by driving 300 million different mammal species to extinction.
</p><p>
When certain species die off, much of its "phylogenetic diversity" disappears, too. For instance, as Davis explained to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/15/humanity-is-cutting-down-the-tree-of-life-warn-scientists" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, losing a few species of shrew is not as devastating as losing elephants. Losing elephants is akin to "chopping a large branch off the tree of life … whereas losing a shrew species would be like trimming off a small twig."
</p><p>
Davis further noted in the press release:
</p><blockquote>
"Large mammals, or megafauna, such as giant sloths and saber-toothed tigers, which became extinct about 10,000 years ago, were highly evolutionarily distinct. Since they had few close relatives, their extinctions meant that entire branches of Earth's evolutionary tree were chopped off. There are hundreds of species of shrew, so they can weather a few extinctions. There were only four species of saber-toothed tiger; they all went extinct."
</blockquote><p>
Worryingly, some of today's most iconic megafauna are facing increasing rates of extinction, the press release warns. Black rhinos are at high risk of becoming extinct within the next 50 years. Asian elephants have less than a 33 percent chance of lasting beyond this century.
</p><p>
"Although we once lived in a world of giants: giant beavers, giant armadillos, giant deer, etc., we now live in a world that is becoming increasingly impoverished of large wild mammalian species. The few remaining giants, such as rhinos and elephants, are in danger of being wiped out very rapidly," said Jens-Christian Svenning from Aarhus University in the press release.
</p><p>
Saving animals with the long evolutionary histories—including the black rhino, the red panda and the indri lemur—should thus be prioritized.
</p><p>
"This highlights species we should try to save and could help us prioritize conservation," Davis told The Guardian.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="daf4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LFDQ7J1579006435"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="885063715225313281" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Earth's Sixth Mass Extinction Already Underway https://t.co/b5l4cIXKWk @globalactplan @foeeurope</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/885063715225313281">1499850608.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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A coffee farmer picks fresh coffee cherries in Colombia. Neil Palmer / International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Human civilization utterly depends on our precious food supplies, but the planet's sixth mass extinction of plants and animals currently underway is also threatening the world's food crops, according to a new report from Bioversity International.
"Huge proportions of the plant and animal species that form the foundation of our food supply are just as endangered [as wildlife] and are getting almost no attention," Ann Tutwiler, director general of Bioversity International, wrote in an article for the Guardian.
<p>
"If there is one thing we cannot allow to become extinct, it is the species that provide the food that sustains each and every one of the seven billion people on our planet," she said.
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According to the report, 940 cultivated species are already threatened. Tutwiler emphasized the impact on popular foods and commodities:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"> "Take some consumer favorites: chips, chocolate and coffee. Up to 22% of wild potato species are predicted to become <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222567867_The_effect_of_climate_change_on_crop_wild_relatives" target="_blank">extinct by 2055</a> due to climate change. In Ghana and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/13/chocolate-industry-drives-rainforest-disaster-in-ivory-coast" target="_blank">Ivory Coast</a>, where the raw ingredient for 70% of our chocolate is grown, cacao trees <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-race-to-save-chocolate/" target="_blank">will not be able to survive</a> as temperatures rise by two degrees over the next 40 years. Coffee yields in Tanzania have <a href="https://theconversation.com/coffee-lovers-beware-climate-change-may-affect-your-brew-42366" target="_blank">dropped 50%</a> since 1960."
</p><p>
<span></span>Additionally, of the estimated 5,538 plant species counted as food, just three—rice, wheat and maize—provide more than 50 percent of the world's plant-derived calories.
</p><p>
"Relying so heavily on such a narrow resource base is a risky strategy for the planet, for individual livelihoods and for nutritious diets," the report states.
</p><p>
<span></span>As the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/26/sixth-mass-extinction-of-wildlife-also-threatens-global-food-supplies" target="_blank">Guardian</a> pointed out, a disease or pest can sweep through large areas of monocultures, like during the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/aug/10/teeth-of-irish-famine-victims-reveal-scientific-markers-for-starvation" target="_blank">Irish potato famine</a> when a million people starved to death.
</p><p>
Tutwiler noted that the world's incredible diversity of wild or rarely cultivated species—such the beta carotene-rich <span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gac" target="_blank">gac</a> fruit from Vietnam or the vitamin A-filled <a href="http://www.promusa.org/Asupina" target="_blank">Asupina banana</a>—"can be a source of affordable, nutritious food—provided we don't let it disappear."
</p><p>
"This 'agrobiodiversity' is a precious resource that we are losing, and yet it can also help solve or mitigate many challenges the world is facing," she said. "It has a critical yet overlooked role in helping us improve global nutrition, reduce our impact on the environment and adapt to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank">climate change</a>."
</p><p>
In an interview with <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2017/09/ann-tutwiler-agrobiodiversity/" target="_blank">FoodTank</a>, Tutwiler commented on how <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agribusiness">agribusiness</a> and the Western diet has also contributed to the world's loss of biological diversity of food:
</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"From the production side, a focus on 'feeding the world' rather than 'nourishing the world' has led to a focus on a handful of starchy staples that has contributed to an increase in land planted with maize, wheat, and rice from 66 percent to 79 percent of all cereal area between 1961 and 2013.
</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">
On the consumption side, there is a growing global tendency towards Western diets and processed convenience foods. Diets are based more and more on major cereals, plus sugar and oil. So these now dominate our agricultural production. Of the 30,000-ish plant species that can be used as food, today only three—rice, wheat, and maize—provide half the world's plant-derived calories and intakes of pulses, fruits, and vegetables are low.
</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">
At the same time, the same pressures that are driving the sixth mass extinction of wild biodiversity are also affecting agricultural biodiversity—habitat transformation, deforestation, invasive species, and climate change. They also lead to disruption in pollinators and natural pest control. Loss of wild biodiversity can lead to erosion of genetic diversity (like the wild relatives of crops, which are a valuable source of traits for breeding), which reduces options for breeding new plant varieties better adapted to climate change."</p><p>
Bioversity International's new 200-page report, "Mainstreaming Agrobiodiversity in Sustainable Food Systems," highlights how governments and companies should protect and encourage agrobiodiversity to tackle wider global problems such as poverty, malnutrition, environmental degradation and climate change.
</p>
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The Sixth Extinction: Climate Change May Wipe Out a Third of World's Parasites
11 September 2017
Climate
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As the U.S. continues to deal with unprecedented floods and hurricanes, a new study has revealed climate change is also driving the mass extinction of parasites that are critical to natural ecosystems, and could add to the planet's sixth great mass extinction event that's currently underway.
<p>The report in the journal Science Advances warns that about a third of all parasite species could go extinct by 2070 due to human activity. The loss of species of lice, fleas and worms could have profound ripple effects on the environment and might pave the way for new parasites to colonize humans and other animals with disastrous health outcomes.</p><p>We speak to Colin Carlson, lead author of the report "Parasite Biodiversity Faces Extinction and Redistribution in a Changing Climate." He's a PhD candidate in environmental science, policy, and management at University of California-Berkeley. In 2011, Business Insider included him in a round-up titled "16 of the Smartest Children in History" alongside Mozart and Picasso. At the time he was 15 years old. He is now 21. <br></p>
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