Warning as species drop by third

Populations of animal, bird and fish species have dropped by almost a third since 1970, conservationists have warned.

The Living Planet Index, which tracks the fortunes of more than 1,400 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, revealed numbers had declined by 27% in 35 years to 2005.

Particularly badly hit are marine species, including the swordfish, which plummeted by 28% in ten years between 1995 and 2005, while ocean birds have seen numbers fall by 30% since the mid 1990s.

The report by conservation charity WWF comes ahead of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity next week, which will discuss aims to achieve a "significant reduction" in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

The pledge was made by the world's nations in 2002 "as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth".

The report said that despite the declines appearing to flatten off in recent years, it is "very unlikely" governments will meet the 2010 target.

Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF-UK, said: "Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downward trend."

He urged the Government to work to reverse the trend which in the UK sees people generating carbon emissions and consuming natural resources at such a rate that if everyone lived like us we would need three planets to sustain us.

The conservation charity also warned a failure to halt biodiversity loss would have negative impacts for human beings.

James Leape, WWF director general, said: "No one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from global warming."

Link

that's just flat-out staggering.
So conservatives are in a pickle on this. They can either claim that it's darwinian natural selection, which would back-hand faith across the face, or they can stick with their spirituality, and turn their backs on idiotic, self destructive policies that back "the free market" and the WTO.

I feel lucky to be blessed with the common sense to have seen this coming, over my drive for self-indulgence.

I went to the source - the World Wildlife Fund - and found a similar article to that posted above, but with a little more detail and a link to the Living Planet Index report at the centre of this horrible news:

Biodiversity plummets as resource use soars
Friday 16 May 2008
Biodiversity has declined by more than a quarter in the last 35 years, a new report from WWF shows.
The Living Planet Index (LPI), which tracks nearly 4,000 populations of wildlife, shows an overall fall in population trends of 27% between 1970 and 2005. Marine species such as swordfish and scalloped hammerhead were particularly hard hit, falling by 28% between 1995 and 2005. Seabird populations have suffered a rapid decline of about 30% since the mid-1990s.

With nations set to gather in Bonn next week for the latest meeting of the Convention of Biological Diversity – an international treaty that aims to sustain the diversity of life on Earth – WWF's report shows that governments are not on track to meet their target to achieve by 2010 a 'significant' reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss.

The Living Planet Index is produced for WWF by the Zoological Society of London – a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It tracks 302 species of mammal, and 811 bird, 241 fish, 83 amphibian and 40 reptile species, and shows that land-based species fell by 25% between 1970 and 2005, and freshwater species by 29% between 1970 and 2003.

Habitat destruction and wildlife trade are the major causes of population decline in species. Over the next 30 years climate change will be an increasingly important factor affecting species.

While nature continues to decline, WWF research from 2006 concluded that we are now globally consuming about 25% more natural resources than the planet can replace in each year. In the UK alone, we are generating carbon emissions and consuming natural resources at such a rate that we would need three planets to support us. WWF believes this highlights the need for us all to move to a one planet future.

Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns at WWF-UK, said: "Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives, so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downward trend. However, there are small signs of hope, and if government grasps what is left of this rapidly closing window of opportunity, we can begin to reverse this trend and move away from three planet living to a one planet future."

The report also highlights the importance of species and natural habitats in maintaining our security and quality of life, through their provision of vital resources such as food, clean water and medicines, and protection from natural disasters.

"Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply," said James Leape, WWF's director general.

"No one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from global warming."

Download the Living Planet Index 2008 (PDF 1.5MB)

http://www.wwf.org.uk/news/n_0000005089.asp