If aspeciesof bee disappears forever or a particular plant is extinct, what does it have to do with us humans? Well, according to a team of international scientists, biodiversityis dropping below levels considered safe for the wellbeing of human societies.
The issue is that everything is interconnectedand ecosystemssupport our societies because they provide us with, for example, food, fibres and fuels.
If species go on disappearing, this can interferewith vital processes such as crop pollinationand thedecompositionof waste.
A frameworkwhich defines the environmental limits within which humans can operate – calledplanetary boundaries- says that losing more than 10% of the biodiversity in an area places the local ecosystem at risk. Ecosystems are all different but this percentage is considered a good measure of safety.
A study published in the magazine Science suggests that 58% of the world's land surfacealready falls below this level. These areas house 71% of the global population.
Professor Andy Purvis, from Imperial College London and the Natural History Museum, is one of the authors of the study. He says: "Once we're the wrong side of the boundary it doesn't mean everything goes wrong immediately, but there is a markedly higher risk that things will go badly wrong."
The researchers found that grasslands, savannasand shrub landswere most affected by biodiversity loss on average.
Purvis hopes this report can be a wake-up call to those who design policies. Here's his warning: "Decision-makersworry a lot about economic recessions, but an ecological recession could have even worse consequences – and the biodiversity damage we've had means we're at risk of that happening. Until and unless we can bring biodiversity back up, we're playing ecological roulette."
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题02 代词和介词(命题猜想)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题14 阅读理解(命题猜想)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题16 书面表达(命题猜想)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语三轮冲刺检测题:32
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题05 动词的时态和语态(命题猜想)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题14 阅读理解(仿真押题)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题15 短文改错(命题猜想)(解析版)
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空2
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空6
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题09 名词性从句(仿真押题)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题09 名词性从句(仿真押题)(解析版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题06 非谓语动词(仿真押题)(解析版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题08 定语从句(命题猜想)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题15 短文改错(仿真押题)(解析版)
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空7
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空5
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空1
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空3
2016届高考英语三轮冲刺检测题:28
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空4
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题04 动词和动词短语(仿真押题)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题15 短文改错(仿真押题)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题16 书面表达(仿真押题)(解析版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题08 定语从句(命题猜想)(解析版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题07 情态动词和虚拟语气(仿真押题)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题04 动词和动词短语(仿真押题)(解析版)
2016届高考英语重点单词复习训练课件:单词填空9
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题03 形容词和副词(命题猜想)(原卷版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题14 阅读理解(仿真押题)(解析版)
2016届高考英语命题猜想与仿真押题:专题03 形容词和副词(仿真押题)(原卷版)
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |