‘Silent crisis’? UN report warns agriculture, overfishing accelerate biodiversity declines

The world’s most comprehensive, and damning, report on the state of nature [was released May 6] in Paris. The UN’s Global Assessment [highlights] the distressing impact that humanity is having on the natural world …. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has spent the last three years working on the 1,800-page assessment.

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The study [analyzes] the impacts that the changing use of land is having on nature. Forest clearing for agriculture, fueled by increased consumption of animal products, has driven many native species from their ancient homes …. Overfishing has caused the decimation of fish stocks in most parts of the world.

The report [warns] that the speed of loss is likely to increase in the coming decades, pushing vast numbers of species towards extinction.

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Speaking at the opening of the meeting in Paris, France’s minister for the ecological and inclusive transition, François de Rugy, compared the loss of biodiversity to the damage caused by climate change …. Unlike rising temperatures, which has seen a massive rise in public awareness around the world, the slow loss of nature was a “more silent crisis,” he said.

Read full, original article: Nature loss: Report to show scale of ‘silent crisis’