Massive Extinctions From Human Activity

   Despite knowing about biodiversity’s importance for a long time, human activity has been causing massive extinctions. As the Environment New Service, reported back in August 1999 (previous link): “the current extinction rate is now approaching 1,000 times the background rate and may climb to 10,000 times the background rate during the next century, if present trends continue [resulting in] a loss that would easily equal those of past extinctions.” (Emphasis added)

   A major report, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, released in March 2005 highlighted a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth, with some 10-30% of the mammal, bird and amphibian species threatened with extinction, due to human actions. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) added that Earth is unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate from the demands we place on it.


   The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes in a video that many species are threatened with extinction. In addition,

• 75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost
• 75% of the world’s fisheries are fully or over exploited
• Up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the global temperatures rise by more than 3.5°C
• 1/3^rd of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with extinction
• Every second a parcel of rainforest the size of a football field disappears
• Over 350 million people suffer from severe water scarcity

   Is this the kind of world we want, it asks? After all, the short video concludes, our lives are inextricably linked with biodiversity and ultimately its protection is essential for our very survival:

Video 1:  What kind of world do you want?

   In different parts of the world, species face different levels and types of threats. But overall patterns show a downward trend in most cases. As explained in the UN’s 3rd Global Biodiversity Outlook, the rate of biodiversity loss has not been reduced because the 5 principle pressures on biodiversity are persistent, even intensifying:

1. Habitat loss and degradation
2. Climate change
3. Excessive nutrient load and other forms of pollution
4. Over-exploitation and unsustainable use
5. Invasive alien species

   Most governments report to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity that these pressures are affecting biodiversity in their country (see p. 55 of the report).
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) maintains the Red List to assess the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties, and even selected subpopulations on a global scale.

Diagram 1: Proportion of all assessed species in different threat categories of extinction risk on the IUCN Red List, based on data from 47,677 species. 

    Extinction risks out pace any conservation successes. Amphibians are the most at risk, while corals have had a dramatic increase in risk of extinction in recent years.

Diagram 2: Threat status of comprehensively assessed species by IUCN.