RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Every day, billions of people depend on wild flora and fauna for food, medicine and energy. But a new UN-backed report says overexploitation, climate change, pollution and deforestation are pushing one million species to extinction.
The report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services – or IPBES – said on Friday that if humanity does not improve sustainable use of nature, the Earth is on course to lose 12% of its wild tree species, over a thousand species of wild mammals and almost 450 species of sharks and rays, among other irreparable harm.
Humans use about 50,000 wild species routinely, and 1 in 5 people of the world’s 7.9 billion people depend on these species for food and income, the report said. 1 in 3 people rely on firewood for cooking, with this number even higher in Africa.
“It’s essential that these uses are sustainable because you need them to be there for your children and grandchildren. So when the use of wild species becomes unsustainable, it’s bad for the species, it’s bad for the ecosystem, and it’s bad for people,” report co-chair Marla R. Emery of the United States told The Associated Press.
Apart from the bleak picture, the report also provides policy recommendations and examples of sustainable use of wild fauna and flora. A central point should be securing tenure rights for indigenous and local people who have historically used wild species sustainably, the report said.
According to the study, indigenous people occupy about 38,000,000 square kilometers (14,600,000 square miles) of land in 87 countries, which equates to about 40% of terrestrial protected areas.
“Their lands tend to do better in terms of sustainability than other lands. And the common thread is the ability to continue to engage in customary practices,” said Emery, who is also a researcher with the US Forest Service.
Emery argues that it is essential to provide national and international systems, such as education, that promote the preservation of local languages, as it supports the ability of older members to transmit traditional knowledge of sustainable practices to new generations.
An example of good practice is fishing for arapaima, one of the world’s largest freshwater fish, in the Brazilian Amazon, report co-chair Jean-Marc Fromentin of France told the AP.
“It was going from an unsustainable situation to a sustainable situation,” Fromentin said. “Some communities in Brazil created community-based management and then called in some scientists to learn more about fish biology and implement an effective monitoring system. It worked so well that the model went to other communities and countries like Peru.”
Gregorio Mirabal, head of the coordinator of indigenous organizations of the Amazon basin, who was not involved in the report, told the AP that there are already several UN studies that highlight the importance of biodiversity and the threats posed by climate change, but they do not lead to solutions.
The indigenous leader mentioned growing problems in the region such as water pollution from mercury used in illegal mining and oil spills. Moreover, those who oppose these practices face violence, such as the recent killing of a local warrior in a mining zone in Venezuela.
“There is an irrational exploitation of natural resources in the Amazon, but no social investment to improve the health, educational, cultural and nutritional situation of the indigenous peoples,” Mirabal said.
The report was approved by representatives of the 139 member countries gathered this week in Bonn, Germany. Dozens of experts participated in it, from scientists to bearers of local knowledge. IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body and is not part of the United Nations system, but has the support of the United Nations Environment Program and other bodies.
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