We must recognize the importance of integrating conservation and agriculture while also recognizing the connections between animal consumption and the related land use changes which have fueled climate change and the ongoing biodiversity crisis.
The United Nations biodiversity summit, known as COP15, ended in December
with the nearly 200 participant nations pledging to protect at least 30% of
Earth’s land and oceans for wildlife by 2030.[1] This commitment is part of
an effort to combat the ongoing biodiversity crisis, which has led many to
conclude we are currently entering and experiencing Earth’s sixth mass
extinction event. Unlike the previous five extinction events, the current
one (known as the Holocene or Anthropocene extinction) is caused by the
activity of a single species—humans.
This landmark agreement is the largest to date and will require large-scale
land use changes and increased efforts to protect biodiverse regions around
the world.
Global species assessments paint a dreary picture of biodiversity loss, a
crisis that is only beginning to gain more widespread attention. Globally,
there has been a roughly 68 percent reduction of all biodiversity in less
than 50 years; this is a catastrophic decline with potentially huge
ramifications.[2] A further 40.7 percent of amphibians, 25.4 percent of
mammals, 13.6 percent of birds, and 21.1 percent of reptile species are
threatened with extinction globally.[3]This biodiversity loss is a
consequence of large-scale land use changes as we have transitioned natural
ecosystems to serve human needs and desires. Already humans have
significantly altered roughly 75 percent of Earth’s ice-free land,[4]
polluting the majority of its oceans and waterways in the process[5] and
destroying more than 85 percent of wetlands worldwide.[6] Biodiversity is in
a precarious state. If we are going to protect areas in which wildlife can
thrive again, urgent action is required.
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