A year after they were set, ambitious goals to prevent mass extinctions may not be enough science

Protected areas are a great way to protect wildlife. However, protecting 30% of the land by 2030 will not be enough, and additional interventions will be needed to protect biodiversity.

Ambitious targets aimed at preventing current mass extinctions are outdated and inadequate a year after they were set, a new study has found. Up to 45 years between environmental change and its impact on animals, depending on species and drivers of change.

According to a study published in the journal “Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences”, this means “Peace Pact with Nature”, which was pledged at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity “Cobb 15” (COP15) last December, it may already be breached, as the magnitude of this delay is not taken into account in expectations of future losses.

Biodiversity loss

The research team, led by Richard Cornford, a zoologist at the Zoological Institute and Natural History Museum in London, said, “There is widespread recognition that time is short for the concerted and ambitious action needed to halt biodiversity loss by 2050. This work shows that time is shorter than previously thought.” .

Cornford and colleagues reveal that past impacts of habitat loss and climate change explain current trends in bird and mammal population metrics more than recent impacts. Their findings suggest that in most cases we won’t see the cumulative results of the changes we’re implementing now for at least a decade, and until then we’ll see significant impacts of land use and climate change on species abundance.

The team explains that we should see the effects in small birds and mammals within decades, but for larger species, for better or worse, we may have to wait longer for the full effects to emerge. Animal populations will continue to respond to past environmental changes until 2050.

Biodiversity is very complex

Just Report Published on the Science Alert website on April 21, the global extinction rate is now tens of thousands of times higher than expected without human intervention, as humans have replaced up to 70% of all land, leaving behind less productive habitats. wake up

Protecting the biodiversity targets for 2030 and 2050 agreed at COP15 requires the most urgent action to avoid a delayed response and significant environmental change that has already occurred. According to the study, serious efforts to reclaim the land may not succeed. 2030 at this point.

The study shows that biodiversity change is more complex and involves long-term effects such as habitat loss and climate change. Projections suggest that some species will be lost (medium-sized birds) and others will thrive (large birds) by 2050, and abundance trends may be substantially flat.

The study suggests that we need to look to the future to fully understand our impacts on biodiversity, and that protected areas are the best way to protect wildlife. However, protecting 30% of the land by 2030 will not be enough, and additional interventions will be needed to protect biodiversity.

Conservation of Biodiversity

In addition to environmental factors, overexploitation of animal species is a major threat and immediate danger, associated with rapid decline in their numbers. Ongoing overexploitation and delayed responses to environmental change highlight the urgent need to take action to promote vertebrate recovery by 2030.

The group warns that protecting 30% of land by 2030 will not be enough and that additional interventions will be needed to protect biodiversity, and that managing protected areas will reduce threats from direct use of wildlife such as poaching, which will continue if boundaries are maintained. Fishing quotas are fixed.

This new study confirms that we need to look at other factors in the future to understand their full impact on biodiversity, and that protected areas are an asset in conservation efforts, especially for birds.

Furthermore, efforts to manage and restore habitats have direct benefits for human health and functioning ecosystems, and reduce the likelihood of disease. Conservation of biodiversity is a great asset to us and the environment we live in. Our actions should be quick and meaningful. And action needs to be taken. If we are serious about saving biodiversity, it will be immediate and effective.