Saving Wildlife

Scientists have warned of the extinction of about a million species of animals, insects and plants from the planet Earth within a period not exceeding a few decades if the loss of biodiversity and climate change continues. This came during a meeting held under the auspices of the United Nations, and in the presence of representatives of 132 countries, to discuss the risks threatening living organisms as a result of climate change and crises and disasters to which nature is exposed. “We are destroying our economies, our livelihoods, our food security, our health and the quality of life in this world,” said Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity President Robert Watson, who chaired the meeting and endorsed a summary for policymakers drawn up by hundreds of scientists and experts. Scientist Watson added: “Since biodiversity loss and climate change represent issues related to the environment, economic development and food security, all of these issues must be addressed as one package. This means that these issues are not the responsibility of environment ministers only, but governments must get more involved.” “If we want to leave a world to our children and grandchildren that has not been destroyed by human activities, we have to act now,” Watson said. “It is vital that governments and the private sector around the world listen to the voice of the poor.” In the report, which they issued entitled “Global Assessment,” the scientists concluded that up to one million out of about eight million species of plants, insects and animals on the surface of the Earth are threatened with extinction, and many of them may become extinct within decades, stressing that climate change resulting from the burning of coal, oil and gas within the framework of the fossil fuel industry exacerbates the loss. Scientists pointed out that what raises concerns is the accelerating rate of disappearance of certain creatures, at rates hundreds of times faster than what was the case during the past ten million years, amid warnings of a mass extinction that is the first of its kind since the extinction of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Joseph Setelli, a professor at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Germany, emphasized that “humans are not at risk of extinction in the short term, but it is very difficult to determine whether humans are at risk of extinction in the long term,” said Setelli, who co-chairs the Intergovernmental Science and Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. For his part, the executive director of the meeting, Ibis Anlarigadiri, said: We do not want people to feel frustrated, and to have the impression that there is nothing that can be done (to confront this reality), because we have not lost the battle, and there are many opportunities for nature to regain its vitality and freshness, but this dictates that we all engage in work to protect life on planet Earth. For more on Euronews: European Union: Climate change is an existential threat that will not exclude any country Watch: Giant lanterns in Paris tell stories of biodiversity Poll: Climate change represents the biggest security threat to the world