5.1 THE HEALTH OF OUR ECOSYSTEMS
Biodiversity is a term used to describe the rich variety of life on Earth, it covers all living things, including plants, animals, humans and bacteria. Biodiversity can also relate to the species diversity in a specific ecosystem. Ecosystems that host the most biodiversity tend to have an ideal environment for plant growth, like the warm and wet climate of tropical regions, some of these areas are known as 'hot spots' due to their species abundance.
Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history – and the rate of species extinction is accelerating, these warnings are from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
The report is the most comprehensive ever presented and has been compiled by 145 experts from 50 countries over a period of 3 years. The report assesses the changes in our ecosystems and reveals a thorough picture of their health.
“The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” said IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson. “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”
“The Report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global,” he said. “Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganisation across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values.”
Source: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/
