Ecosystems breaking down at faster pace, says WWF data

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jan0207

\City3

 

 

By A Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 1 – The world's natural ecosystems are being degraded

at a rate unprecedented in human history, and on current projections

humanity will be using two planets' worth of natural resources by

2050 – if those resources do not run out by then.

 

WWF's Living Planet Report-2006, the organisation's biennial

statement on the state of the natural world, confirms that humanity

is using the world's resources faster than they can be renewed – the

latest data available (2003) indicates that humanity's `Ecological

Footprint', i.e., humanity's impact on the planet, has more than

tripled since 1961. The footprint now exceeds the world's ability to

regenerate by about 25 per cent.

 

The consequences of the accelerating pressures on the earth's

natural systems have been both predictable and dire. An index of the

report shows a rapid and continuing loss of biodiversity –

populations of vertebrate species have declined by about one-third

since 1970.

 

According to the report, the key reasons behind the growing

Ecological Footprint has been the high-consumption countries like

Western Europe and North America, and high- population countries

like India and China.

 

The report pulls together various data to compile two indicators of

the Earth's well-being. The first – the Living Planet Index –

measures biodiversity based on trends in more than 3,600 populations

of 1,300 vertebrate species around the world. In all, data for 695

terrestrial, 344 freshwater and 274 marine species were analysed.

Terrestrial species declined by 31 per cent, freshwater species by

28 per cent and marine species by 27 per cent.

 

The second index — the Ecological Footprint – measures humanity's

demand on the biosphere. The report shows that humanity's footprint

exceeded bio-capacity by 25 per cent in 2003. In the previous report

(based on data till 2001), the figure was 21 per cent. The carbon

dioxide footprint, measured from the use of fossil fuels, was the

fastest growing component of the global footprint, increasing more

than nine folds from 1961 to 2003. The report indicates that the

biggest contributor to the footprint is the generation and use of

energy. The reliance on fossil fuels to meet energy needs continues

to grow, and climate-changing emissions now make up 48 per cent of

humanity's global footprint.

 

The message of the two indices is clear and urgent: humanity has

been exceeding the earth's ability to support its lifestyles for

over 20 years, and this needs to be stopped. Humanity's consumption

must be balanced with the natural world's capacity to regenerate and

absorb the wastes. Unless this is done, humanity risks irreversible

damage.

 

" We share the Earth with 5-10 million species or more. By choosing

how much of the planet's bio-capacity we appropriate, we determine

how much is left for their use. To maintain biodiversity, it is

essential that a part of the biosphere's productive capacity is

reserved for the survival of other species, and that this share is

split between all bio-geographic realms and major biomes, " the

report states and adds that the Living Planet Index and the

Ecological Footprint would help establish baselines, set targets,

and monitor achievements and failures for managing the transition to

sustainability.