Over the course of this century, around a third of all life on earth is projected to go extinct. To put it simply, the natural world is being crushed under our collective weight and consumption.
To understand how much of our natural heritage we stand to lose, it is pertinent to realise and recognise how much we have already lost.
Of the 24 animal species that weighed above 50 kilograms, 23 went extinct shortly after our arrival. This story repeats itself in other parts of the globe whenever we first colonise a new island or area.
The tragedy unfolds as follows: The opening scene is a rich variety of large animals, without any trace of us.
In scene two, our tools appear, be it a human bone here or a spear there.
Scene three then follows, where our species occupies centre stage, and most large animals and some smaller ones disappear.
A case in point, mammoths were alive and kicking up to 4,300 years ago until our species pushed them over the brink.
A second extinction wave followed with the agricultural revolution, and now with the industrial revolution, the wave is turning into a flood.
This steep decline in biodiversity merits far more attention, for it will affect us all.
Populations of wild animals have declined sharply in one generation, and worse still, there is evidence that insect populations are suffering, or more accurately, disappearing.
Insects provide us with vital services, from acting as recyclers of nutrients, to important crop pollinators, or simply acting as food for other animals.
One ominous study from Puerto Rico found that even the current change in climate of one degree from pre-industrial times was enough to lead to a 98 per cent decline in the number of ground insects in the El Yunque national forest in Sierra de Luquillo.
This decline led to the biodiversity of the area falling apart, with one of the scientists in the study, Brad Lister, remarking that during the process of collecting data, “We knew that something was amiss in the first couple days. We were driving into the forest and my colleague and I blurted ‘Where are all the birds?’ There was nothing.”
Similar results were reported from a study in a nature reserve in Germany, and a global review of insect populations reveals a chilling story.
The sixth mass extinction is accelerating, hitting all life large or small, and serious action is required to stem the tide. This review, published in the journal Biological Conservation, points to intensive agriculture, heavy use of pesticides, urbanisation and climate change as the major agents behind this decline.
The review estimates a decline in the species and number of insects of 2.5 per cent per annum. This means that in 10 years, we will have a quarter less, in 50, just half will remain, and in 100 years there will be nothing left. As remarkable as our species is, biodiversity is not an optional extra. It is the web that holds all life, including human life.
Global tipping points are being reached, and beginning to amplify each other’s effects.
Time is running out to stem runaway climate change, and once positive feedback mechanisms come into play, the degree of warming may no longer be inour hand.
To the political class this is a plea more than anything else. Failure to recognise the grave danger that disrupting our biosphere has on the future of our species, and all species on this planet, is not only reckless and irresponsible, but condemning countless species to extinction. And by the time my generation will wield power, it may be too late.