The succession of bad news on the environment seems to be unending. Practically every month some report or another sounds the alarm bell on yet another aspect of human behavior — driven almost entirely by greed rather than need — that is threatening the future of life on earth.
The latest such alarm was sounded in Paris last week, when a group of experts that had studied the impact of human actions on biodiversity across the globe concluded that more than a million species of various forms of life, wild and domestic, in the air, water and on the land, both large and small, are threatened with extinction due to human activity, either directly or indirectly.
The UN report was compiled by more than 450 experts from 109 nations, who studied nearly 15,000 documents, covering all forms of life. It says that incessant deforestation to make way for agriculture, industry, cities or other infrastructure has reduced the natural habitat of many species by as much as 75 percent. The scenario is no better in the oceans and other water bodies, where nearly 66 percent of habitats have been lost. But the biggest loss has been seen in wetlands, which have been decimated by up to 85 percent. Rising pollution, with the release of up to 400 million tons of toxic waste into global water bodies, is also one of the key factors that could push species toward extinction.
To add to these, climate change — again induced by human activity — has aggravated the situation for most species. Already struggling to overcome the loss of habitat, they are unable to cope with the altered climate, which often disturbs the delicate balance that nature has maintained between various lifeforms. This has led to an increase in the rate of extinction of species, the experts said.
One of the most worrying aspects of the report is that most of the activities, like urbanization, infrastructure development and the clearing of forests for farming and industrialization, are now mainly taking place in developing countries, many of which are tropical and hence are reservoirs of the world’s remaining biodiversity. Be it the Amazonian rainforest or the jungles of Southeast Asia or sub-Saharan Africa, or indeed the Himalayas, most of them bear an increasing number of scars due to the destruction of biodiversity.
A million species of various forms of life, wild and domestic, in the air, water and on the land, both large and small, are threatened with extinction due to human activity, either directly or indirectly.
Ranvir Nayar
Alarming as it may have been, the report seems to have fallen on deaf ears, at least in the corridors of power, and is unlikely to have the kind of impact on the current world leaders that is needed for governments to shed their indifference regarding the way humans are causing damage to the planet and all lifeforms, including themselves.
One exception was France, which hosted the release of the report and, almost immediately, President Emmanuel Macron said that he would review the budgets to ensure his country initiated measures to preserve biodiversity. Possible steps include reducing the loss of farmland or forests to construction, cutting down chemical pesticide consumption, and augmenting the size of protected marine areas.
Most of the world’s other governments have limited their reactions to platitudes, expressing concerns about the need for protection of the planet. On the ground, little is likely to change, as the battle with mindless “development” — achieved through rapid, unplanned urbanization — increasingly intensive farming or livestock production, and the continued rise in polluting industries and mining is being lost.
The issue will once again widen the schism between the developing and developed nations, as the former are likely to face immense pressure to change their priorities. The leaders of these countries, as well their businesses, point to the greater need for industrialization, mining and farming in order to create jobs and also raise the quality of life of their citizens.
The developed nations stand guilty of double standards on these issues, as they fail to offer any alternative path for development or even the much-needed financial and technical assistance that would allow developing countries to preserve the last remnants of nature, while ensuring that their growing populations have enough food to eat and homes to live in.
In addition, most of the so-called development around the world is being carried out by Western companies that generate billions of dollars of profits each year through the over-exploitation of the scarce natural resources in developing nations. Be it oil, mining, construction, automotive, aviation, chemical or practically any other industry, Western multinationals constitute an overwhelming proportion of companies engaged in these businesses and are hence responsible, in a large part, for the destruction of the environment.
Unfortunately, as has been seen with several other reports and experts’ predictions, this issue is likely to be buried as soon as the global attention shifts to yet another alarm or crisis. Some, notably US President Donald Trump, would see the recommendations as being anti-American, while the leaders of developing country are likely to point fingers at their counterparts from the developed nations.
Meanwhile, amid the blame game, the planet will continue to hurtle toward yet another catastrophe.
- Ranvir S. Nayar is managing editor of Media India Group, a global platform based in Europe and India, which encompasses publishing, communication and consultation services.
