One million species face extinction: Why biodiversity report matters

Why in news?
  • 1 million different species, out of a total of an estimated 8 million plant and animal species, are facing the threat of extinction, more than at any previous time, because of changes brought about in natural environments by human activities.
More in news
  • Findings of the report
    (1) 1 million different species, out of a total of an estimated 8 million plant and animal species, are facing the threat of extinction, more than at any previous time.
    (2) This is because of changes brought about in natural environments by human activities.
    (3) The two UN Conventions — Convention on Biological Diversity that addresses biodiversity issues, and the Convention on Combating Desertification that deals with sustainable land management — are likely to be guided by this report in future.
    (4) India can identify with most of the trends pointed out in the report such as biodiversity hotspot, vast areas, especially the coastline, of which are under tremendous stress due to large population.
    (5) Plastic pollution had increased 10 times from 1980.
    (6) Number of large dams (those with a height of 15 m or more) had reached almost 50,000.
    (7) Human population had more than doubled since 1970s, and the number of urban areas had doubled since 1992.
    (8) All these trends have been clearly visible in the case of India and bring with them the associated risks to natural ecosystems highlighted in the report.
What is IPBES?
  • IPBES is a global scientific body very similar in composition and functioning to the better-known Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
  • It makes periodic reviews of scientific literature to make projections about the earth’s future climate.
  • IPBES is mandated to do a similar job for natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Formed in 2012, this is the first global assessment report by the IPBES.
  • Like IPCC, IPBES does not produce any new science, it only evaluates existing scientific knowledge to make assessments and projections.
Source
The hindu.
 
 
 
Posted by Jawwad Kazi on 8th May 2019
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