According to several experts consulted by the EFE, according to the latest official measurements, the world has now warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius in 2021, which is very close to the 1.5 degrees agreed in the Paris Agreement, and the UN has warned that the world is warming at this rate. By the end of the century it would have warmed to almost 3 degrees.
In this scenario and according to the report Living planet 2022 According to the conservation NGO WWF, in addition to the extinction of birds, mammals, reptiles and squirrelfish between 1979 and 2018 by 1% to 2.5%, there was already a decline in animals with an average population of 69%. Types .
The main causes of this loss of biodiversity are land use change, invasive alien species, pollution and climate change.
According to José González, a professor at the Faculty of Ecology at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the land use change that is considered the greatest threat, followed by invasive species, is the transformation of the area.
An example of this is the deforestation of forested areas to convert them to cropland, as in the Amazon, which means “removing habitats for fauna and dividing the territory, creating isolated habitats”.
However, if global warming exceeds 1.5 degrees, “it will become so unstable that biodiversity is seriously threatened,” González warned, and if the 2-degree threshold is exceeded, there will be “disastrous consequences” for both species as humans, society. and economy
All of these threats to biodiversity have “anthropic roots,” meaning they are anthropogenic, which sets them apart from previous climate changes the Earth has experienced since its formation.
Read more: The world is going dark due to climate change
González also pointed out that because the climate changes “very often, but over very long periods of time,” another difference is the rate at which current climate change is occurring.
A rate of temperature increase where many species are “unable to migrate in search of a more favorable climate or time for evolution and adaptation.”
Some birds have even begun to change their migratory and breeding cycles, emphasizing that these species are “dependent on food availability and nesting,” as David Howell, head of energy and climate, SEO/BirdLife, pointed out. and this warming phenomenon gives them “very little chance of survival”.
Howell noted that one in eight bird species is threatened with extinction and more than half “need special remedial action to ensure their survival”, and documented changes in relationships between predators, prey and competitors.
“If warming is more supportive of a predator or competitor of a particular species,” imbalances in nature will emerge.
Therefore, the expert argues for “healthy and undisturbed ecosystems” as the only alternative to absorbing CO.two“reduce and, at best, prevent extinction” and “regain” populations of already endangered species.
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
