The draft new environmental plan, released on Monday by the UN Convention, outlined a path to tackling the biodiversity crisis. Not only plants, but almost all classes and groups of animals, such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and even insects, are dying with frightening speed.
The intensity with which this sad process goes, allows scientists to say that the planet is on the verge of a sixth mass extinction. The culprit is the human factor in all its glory: deforestation, poaching, anthropogenic pathogens, climate change, overfishing and ocean acidification.
The UN plan envisages the inclusion of 30% of all land and sea (and at least 10% of the entire planet should be \”strictly protected\”) by 2030. The Convention also pays special attention to the need to combat the spread of invasive species and reduce pesticide and plastic pollution by 50%.
The report says that human activity could wipe out up to a million terrestrial and marine species if current trends continue. According to a three-year study conducted by hundreds of scientists, the current rate of extinction is hundreds of times higher than the average for the past 10 million years. Biodiversity loss is inextricably linked to global climate change, and scientists warn that together these two crises are a real threat to human civilization.
\”To reverse the catastrophic changes that occur in nature, countries around the world must listen to scientists who warn that transformational action will be needed to prevent such rapid biodiversity loss,\” said Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, a member of the Natural Resources Conservation Council.
Although the UN proposals are largely understandable, they offer little detail on how countries can take the necessary steps to conserve biodiversity. The project says that \”the right and the society needs to prioritize and allocate financial and other resources, using the value of nature and recognizing value without preservation.\”
The main goal for 2030 is to take urgent action to bring biodiversity to the path of restoration for the benefit of the planet and all of humanity. Within this goal, the UN has identified 20 challenges facing the world. These include reducing threats to the world\’s flora and fauna, meeting human needs through sustainable development and benefit sharing, using various techniques and tools to implement and promote the whole idea of biodiversity protection.
Part of the plan, published by the UN Convention, calls on the US to contribute to ending the environmental crisis by investing $ 100 billion to protect endangered species; creation of 500 new national parks and reserves and restoration of the Endangered Species Act.
The project will be considered by nearly 200 countries at the 15th Biodiversity Summit to be held in China in October 2020.