They seem to have neatly avoided using the word Windfarm!
SOME of the world’s most famous species are under in “catastrophic decline” driving wildlife to extinction including a seabird common to Orkney, an international study has found.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF’s) startling flagship Living Planet Report 2020 warns that nature is being destroyed by humans at a rate never seen before, and the decline is showing no signs of slowing.
Agriculture and land use change, including the conversion of wild spaces into farmland, are among the main causes of global nature loss, while over-fishing is wreaking havoc on many marine stocks.
This year’s Living Planet Report includes significant new research from a global group of scientists which confirms for the first time the actions that can halt and reverse the downward spiral of wildlife loss.
The research shows that we can only turn things around if ambitious conservation efforts to protect our wildlife are combined with urgent action to stop habitat loss and deforestation – changing our farming and the way we produce our food; tackling food waste and moving to healthier diets; and working to restore damaged habitats and landscapes.
With this urgent and ambitious global action in both conservation and the food and agriculture system it may still be possible to put nature on a path to recovery by 2030.
The “drastic decline” of the Arctic Skua in Orkney is highlighted in the analysis as it has registered a more pronounced decline than any other seabird in the UK.
It’s population on the island has slumped by 62% between 1982 and 2010, due to competition for nest sites and warming temperatures leading to a lack of food, mainly sand eels.
Other examples of threats to wildlife include the Irrawady dolphin which has declined by roughly 44% between 1997 and 2008.
This species from South and South East Asia is threatened by pollution, habitat degradation/fragmentation, and entanglement in fishing gear.
Scotland is already taking steps to reduce carbon emissions, including bringing more renewable energy online, ramping up investment to restore our vital peatlands and planting thousands of hectares of woodlands.
But the report finds that impacts of the nature and climate emergencies on species around the world are happening even more quickly than anticipated, meaning more needs to be done.
Lang Banks, director at WWF Scotland said: “We’re on track to wipe wildlife from the face of the planet, but nature is sending us a desperate SOS. This report makes clear that recovery can happen, but we need to place the environment at the heart of our decision-making, end harmful practices and catalyse nature’s recovery if we are to have any hope of building a safe and resilient future for nature, people and our planet.
“Here in Scotland that means restoring and expanding our native habitats; building farming and fishing in a way that enhances nature and reduces climate emissions, and protecting our oceans.”
The report also includes Voices for a Living Planet, a collection of essays from global thought leaders on how to build a healthy and resilient world for people and nature. The lead essay is written by WWF ambassador Sir David Attenborough, who highlights that humanity is now in a new geological age, the Anthropocene.
He said: “The Anthropocene could be the moment we achieve a balance with the rest of the natural world and become stewards of our planet.
“Doing so will require systemic shifts in how we produce food, create energy, manage our oceans and use materials. But above all it will require a change in perspective. A change from viewing nature as something that’s optional or ‘nice to have’ to the single greatest ally we have in restoring balance to our world.
“The time for pure national interests has passed, internationalism has to be our approach and in doing so bring about a greater equality between what nations take from the world and what they give back. The wealthier nations have taken a lot and the time has now come to give.”
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