More than 40 percent of the Earth’s surface needs protection if we want to maintain current levels of biodiversity on the planet.
Key points:
- Researchers mapped the habitat of more than 35,000 animal species worldwide
- They found that 64 million square kilometers, or 44% of the Earth’s surface, need protection to stop the decline in biodiversity.
- More than two-thirds of this land is already considered “environmentally intact.”
This is the message of an international team of scientists who today published a comprehensive global analysis of animal habitat in the journal Science.
The study, which the authors call the “Planet Conservation Plan,” mapped the distribution of more than 35,000 animal species worldwide and identified the minimum range needed to conserve them.
Researchers found that a total of 64 million square kilometers, or 44 percent of the Earth’s surface, must be protected from development if we are to stop the current decline in biodiversity.
UN Aichi Target 11 aims to protect 17% of the planet by 2020.
However, this was largely considered insufficient, according to the authors of today’s report.
The UN post-2020 global biodiversity framework is currently under development and will set a provisional target for 2030 with the stated goal of “living in harmony with nature” by 2050.
Today’s analysis is one of the most comprehensive of its kind and can help set effective conservation goals, according to study co-author, ecologist and conservation biologist April Reside of the University of Queensland.
“The global debate is about the percentage of the planet we will protect, and the number of people it lands on will depend on its criteria. [of analysis]”Dr. Reside said.
“This study is one of the most comprehensive because it covers so many species: more than 35,000, which is a phenomenal endeavor.”
There are large areas of “intact” habitat in Australia, Canada
While 64 million square miles sounds like a lot of land, we’re not starting from scratch.
The researchers mapped which part of this land was intact, either under some form of protection agreement, a key area of biodiversity or in need of further protection.
Their results showed that about 70 percent of the land is already considered ecologically intact and includes large tracts of habitat in regions such as the remote interior of Australia, Canada, Russia and Brazil, according to Dr. Reside.
Green shows areas where additional conservation is needed outside of intact and protected areas. (Supplied by: Science)
In essence, this land already functions as a habitat today and, if protected, would not need significant rehabilitation compared to some more degraded areas.
“What really stands out about this story is that some of the really intact areas, the really big continuous areas, are in some cases in the richer countries like Canada and Australia,” Dr. Reside said.
“These are some countries where we can afford to keep them [lands]. “
But difficulties arise when the rights of people in developing countries to use their land for agriculture or other purposes conflict with the global need to conserve biodiversity.
Researchers mapped out several future development scenarios and found that by 2030, some 1.3 million square kilometers of intact habitat will become intensive human use in the worst case scenario.
Their conversion from habitat to human use would be “devastating to wildlife,” they said.
Most of this endangered habitat is found in developing countries, with Africa the continent with the most intact land at risk of conversion to intensive human use.
Researchers point out that much of this projected loss is being driven by demand for products in developed countries.
Much of the conversion of habitat in developing countries is due to over-consumption in richer countries. (Getty Images: Sutanta Aditya)
According to UNSW environmental, conservation and environmental policy researcher Megan Evans, who did not participate in the study, the strength of this report is that it has tried to quantify how global conservation intersects with human populations. these areas.
However, he said there were a myriad of equity issues that need to be considered when implementing conservation at this scale.
These include the potential for wrong (or mislabeled) sustainable development projects that end up scamming the local population.
Corporate offsets, where companies buy and close land in developing countries to offset their own impacts elsewhere, can also end up displacing premises.
The best thing richer countries like Australia can do for global conservation is to focus on the impacts of our own industries and habits, Dr. Evans said.
“The global north and rich countries like ours must recognize that we, as rich countries, must pick up our own game and demonstrate good conservation measures.
“By doing things like eliminating fossil fuel subsidies … and stopping trying to offset our overseas activities … we are [offsetting] instead of reducing our excessive consumption or reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
“If rich countries don’t talk, how can we expect other countries to do it?”
Indigenous land management is key to conservation
While figuring out how much of the earth’s surface should be preserved is an important conversation we need to have, figuring out the specific details of how each place looks is where the work is to be done, according to Steve Hemming of Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research, Flinders University.
Support for indigenous land management must be part of global conservation efforts. (ABC News: Anthony Scully)
In many cases, it does not mean excluding people from land use and management, but it does mean valuing the role of indigenous land management, Dr. Hemming said.
“The desert: this is what the colonial powers have assigned to places that seem uninhabited.”
Many ecosystems suffer after people are excluded, and in Australia we are seeing the effects of the forced expulsion of indigenous people from the country, he said.
“Getting people out of the country doesn’t make the country healthy (Indians talk about it), if you get people out of the country, you can see it,” Dr. Hemming said.
“Look at the wildfires in Eastern Australia; you take people out of the country, they don’t manage it and they burn it, you end up with a system that is out of control.
“Forest fires are the result of colonization and invasion: removing people from the country.”
And while current research provides a good scientific framework for maintaining this conversation, the obstacles are often political, Dr. Hemming said.
“Certainly in Australia, working with Indians in environmental management is usually the biggest problem for politicians.
“If the minister is not very supportive of the integration of indigenous management and the environment … then you have a real problem.”
The study estimates that about 1.8 billion people currently live on land it identified as needing conservation.
Dr Reside also said that valuing Indigenous land management, both in Australia and internationally, was key to future conservation.
“Given that many of these lands are inhabited by people, another good news is that indigenous people play a very important role in conservation and are already protecting much of our land around the world,” he said.
Beyond intact land and areas that are already under some form of protection, the study identified 12.4 million square kilometers of land scattered around the world that needed additional measures to stop its degradation.
This includes major patches on the east and west coasts of Australia, northwestern South America, China and the United States.
Much of this habitat is threatened by agriculture and urban sprawl, says Dr. Reside
“The east coast of Australia is a good example. There is a lot of land conversion for urban development and agriculture,” he said.
“You can also see similar stories in the equator and in Central and South America.”
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. Clock time: 29 minutes 35 seconds 29 m The race to save five endangered Australian species
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