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| Collapse of ecosystems likely if plunder continues | | |
John Vidal
A WWF report warns that we are threatening ourselves with extinction.
HUMANS ARE living well beyond their ecological means and are now exhausting natural resources at an unprecedented rate. In so doing, says the WWF's bi-annual report, we are threatening ourselves and all other species with extinction.
New calculations on the decline in the planet's capacity to provide food, fibre and timber, and absorb carbon dioxide, suggest we are using 25 per cent more resources than are renewed naturally in a year.
This ecological "overshoot," which has been growing steadily for nearly 40 years, will on present trends be 100 per cent by 2050, making the likelihood of large-scale ecosystem collapse likely, and conflict and political tension certain, says the environmental group's report.
"Effectively, the earth's regenerative capacity can no longer keep up with demand — people are turning resources into waste faster than nature can turn waste back into resources. Humanity is no longer living off nature's interest, but is drawing down its capital. This growing pressure on ecosystems is causing habitat destruction or degradation and is threatening both biodiversity and human well being," says the report.
The calculations are made by tracking the annual fortunes of 3,600 populations of more than 1,300 land and marine species, and by factoring in climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions, crop yields and fish harvests.
The study shows a 31 per cent decline between 1970 and 2003 in populations of land species and only slightly less in sea and freshwater species — a significant increase on 2001, the last time the calculations were made. Coastal mangroves upon which much marine life depends are being degraded rapidly, as are tropical forests.
Overfishing is now affecting the health of most oceans. The most dramatic declines are seen in India and south-east Asia, where economic development is proceeding fastest.
"Population declines like this are unprecedented in human history," said Jonathan Loe, of the Zoological Society of London, one of the report's authors. "It is a stark indication of the rapid loss of biodiversity worldwide."
In a separate measure of ecological sustainability included in the WWF report, Britain was found to be the 14th most profligate nation on earth. This was calculated by measuring the amount of land and sea needed to produce the resources used by Britons, and the amount of land needed to absorb their waste.
The global average is roughly 2.2 hectares, but each person in Britain for instance uses the equivalent of 5.6 hectares. "If everyone lived like we do, we would need three planets to support us," says the WWF.
On this measure, the United Arab Emirates is the world's most ecologically profligate part of the world, followed by the U.S. The countries with the smallest ecological footprint are Bangladesh, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Malawi. North America has the highest per person ecological deficit, with the EU next. At the other extreme is Latin America.
"Humanity is living off its ecological credit card," said Mathis Wackernagel, director of the Global Footprint Network, which did the study. "While this can be done for a short while, it ultimately leads to liquidation of the planet's ecological assets, and the depletion of resources ... upon which our economy depends."
The WWF director-general, James Leape, said: "The cities, power plants and homes we build today will either lock society into damaging overconsumption beyond our lifetimes, or begin to propel this and future generations towards sustainable living."
The report proposes five ways to cut the global ecological deficit. Increases in population, it says, can be slowed down and turned into decreases by people having smaller families. The affluent can cut consumption and still improve their quality of life. The resources used in the production of goods can be greatly reduced. And better management can reclaim land, while rigorous protection of soils, fisheries and forests will help the planet produce more resources. —
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