Learn more about the crisis with Sarah, a species expert at WWF International
There are millions of unique species interacting to create complex and beautiful ecosystems on this planet of ours — coral reefs, tropical rainforests, alpine meadows, wetlands and arctic tundra.
A world without this wondrous biodiversity is impossible to imagine. But this is the direction we are headed. The current rate of species extinction is at least 100–1,000 times higher than the expected natural rate.
One in four of the world’s mammals are now threatened with extinction in the near future. So are one in eight birds, one in five sharks, one in four coniferous trees, and one in three amphibians.
Biodiversity loss has impacts far beyond the potential cultural loss of iconic species such as tigers, rhinos, and whales. It profoundly affects all our lives.
Species and the ecosystems they are part of provide essential goods and services that make human life possible and contribute enormously to our health and well-being — breathable air, clean water, food, fibres, building materials, medicines, energy, fertile and stable soils, climate regulation, transport, and recreational and spiritual values.
These services are damaged and degraded by biodiversity loss. People around the world are already suffering — through reduced food security, reduced water availability, reduced income, reduced protection from natural disasters, and reduced human health.
For the most part, the cause of this decline is human activities. Every person on Earth — for living space; for food, clothing, housing, and fuel; through our purchases and vacations; and through the waste we produce — continues to destroy and pollute vast areas of natural habitat, massively overexploit wild animals and plants, introduce invasive alien species and diseases that displace or kill native species, and contribute towards human-induced climate change.content