MESSAGE
| DATE | 2005-03-30 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] The World is Coming to an End - No kidding
|
Earth has suffered irreversible damage: study
Earth from space graphic
CTV.ca News Staff
Updated: Wed. Mar. 30 2005 11:20 AM ET
Humans are damaging the Earth at such an unprecedented rate that the
strain on the planet may destroy about two-thirds of its ecosystem
services, according to a landmark international study.
The consequences of humans' activities are severe and include: new
diseases, sudden changes in water quality, creation of "dead zones"
along the coasts, the collapse of fisheries, and shifts in regional
climate, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis
Report.
"At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning," said the 45-member
board.
"Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth
that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future
generations can no longer be taken for granted," it said.
The four-year, 2,500-page assessment was drawn up by 1,300 researchers
from 95 nations in an effort to inform global policy initiatives.
Scientists warn that about 60 per cent of the ecosystem services that
support life on Earth, such as fresh water, air and water regulation and
natural hazards, are being destroyed.
The report warns that the consequences of this degradation of the
environment will significantly worsen over the next 50 years.
"Any progress achieved in addressing the goals of poverty and hunger
eradication, improved health, and environmental protection is unlikely
to be sustained if most of the ecosystem services on which humanity
relies continue to be degraded," said the study.
The report says humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly in the past
50 years than any other period.
"This was done largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh
water, timber, fiber and fuel," a statement said, adding that this
resulted in an irreversible loss of life on Earth, with some 10 to 30
per cent of mammal, bird and amphibian species threatened with
extinction currently.
The changes in the ecosystem are owing to humans' efforts to meet
rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel,
the report says.
"More land was converted to agriculture since 1945 than in the 18th and
19th centuries combined," according to the report's authors.
"More than half of all the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, first made in
1913, ever used on the planet has been used since 1985."
And the current state of affairs is likely to be an obstacle to meeting
the Millennium Development Goals agreed to by world leaders at the
United Nations in 2000, the report says.
"The over-riding conclusion of this assessment is that it lies within
the power of human societies to ease the strains we are putting on the
nature services of the planet, while continuing to use them to bring
better living standards to all," said the MA board of directors in a
statement.
"Achieving this, however, will require radical changes in the way nature
is treated at every level of decision-making and new ways of cooperation
between government, business and civil society. The warning signs are
there for all of us to see. The future now lies in our hands."
In a message launching the reports, United Nations Secretary General
Kofi Annan said the environment can only be protected by understanding
how it works.
"Only by valuing all our precious natural and human resources can we
hope to build a sustainable future," Annan said.
Other warnings:
* Deforestation influences the abundance of human pathogens such
as malaria and cholera
* Scientists project there will be progress in eliminating hunger
but at rates too slow to halve the number of the hungry by 2015.
* It is the world's poorest people who suffer the most from
changes to the ecosystem.
* Only four ecosystem services have been improved in the past
half-century. These include: increased crop, livestock and
aquaculture production, and increased carbon sequestration for
worldwide climate regulation.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment's work was prepared under the
supervision of a 45-member board of directors, co-chaired by Dr. Robert
Watson, chief scientist of The World Bank, and Dr. A. Hamid Zakri,
director of the United Nations University's Institute of Advanced
Studies.
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