Editing Biodiversity (section)

== Current biodiversity loss ==
{{Main|Biodiversity loss|4 = }}

[[File:1970- Decline in species populations - Living Planet Index.svg |thumb|The World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report 2024 found that wildlife populations declined by an average 73% since 1970.<ref name="LivingPlanetIndex_2018">{{cite web |title=Living Planet Index, World |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-living-planet-index |publisher=Our World in Data |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231008181057/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/global-living-planet-index |archive-date=8 October 2023 |date=13 October 2022 |quote=Data source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="WEforum_20221017">{{cite web |last1=Whiting |first1=Kate |title=6 charts that show the state of biodiversity and nature loss – and how we can go 'nature positive' |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/nature-loss-biodiversity-wwf/ |publisher=World Economic Forum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925025824/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/nature-loss-biodiversity-wwf/ |archive-date=25 September 2023 |date=17 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LPI_by_Region_1970">Regional data from {{cite web |title=How does the Living Planet Index vary by region? |url=https://ourworldindata.org/living-planet-index-region |publisher=Our World in Data |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920042759/https://ourworldindata.org/living-planet-index-region |archive-date=20 September 2023 |date=13 October 2022 |quote=Data source: Living Planet Report (2022). World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London. – |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

During the last century, decreases in biodiversity have been increasingly observed. It was estimated in 2007 that up to 30% of all species will be extinct by 2050.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Gabriel |first=Sigmar |date=9 March 2007 |title=30% of all species lost by 2050 |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6432217.stm}}</ref> Of these, about one eighth of known plant species are threatened with [[extinction]].<ref name="Reid Reversing loss of Biodiversity">{{cite web |last=Reid |first=Walter V. |date=1995 |title=Reversing the loss of biodiversity: An overview of international measures |url=http://ag.arizona.edu/OALS/ALN/aln37/reid.html |work=Arid Lands Newsletter |publisher=Ag.arizona.edu |number=37}}</ref> Estimates reach as high as 140,000 species per year (based on [[Species-area curve|Species-area theory]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pimm |first1=Stuart L. |last2=Russell |first2=Gareth J. |last3=Gittleman |first3=John L. |last4=Brooks |first4=Thomas M. |title=The Future of Biodiversity |journal=Science |date=21 July 1995 |volume=269 |issue=5222 |pages=347–350 |doi=10.1126/science.269.5222.347 |pmid=17841251 |bibcode=1995Sci...269..347P }}</ref> This figure indicates [[sustainability|unsustainable]] ecological practices, because few species emerge each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Statistics of Biodiversity Loss [2020 WWF Report] |url=https://earth.org/data_visualization/biodiversity-loss-in-numbers-the-2020-wwf-report/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=Earth.Org |language=en}}</ref> The rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history, with extinctions occurring at rates hundreds of times higher than [[background extinction]] rates.<ref name="Reid Reversing loss of Biodiversity" /><ref>{{cite news |date=2 February 2021 |title=Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? |work=[[The Guardian]] |location= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |access-date=17 December 2021 |vauthors=Carrington D}}</ref><ref name="Dasgupta">{{cite web |last=Dasgupta |first=Partha |author-link=Partha Dasgupta |date=2021 |title=The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf |access-date=16 December 2021 |website= |publisher=UK government |page=1 |quote=Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Current extinction rates, for example, are around 100 to 1,000 times higher than the baseline rate, and they are increasing.}}</ref> and expected to still grow in the upcoming years.<ref name="Dasgupta" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=De Vos |first1=Jurriaan M. |last2=Joppa |first2=Lucas N. |last3=Gittleman |first3=John L. |last4=Stephens |first4=Patrick R. |last5=Pimm |first5=Stuart L. |title=Estimating the normal background rate of species extinction |journal=Conservation Biology |date=April 2015 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=452–462 |doi=10.1111/cobi.12380 |pmid=25159086 |bibcode=2015ConBi..29..452D |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/98443/1/Conservation_Biology_2014_early-view.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ceballos G, Ehrlich PR, Raven PH |date=June 2020 |title=Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=117 |issue=24 |pages=13596–13602 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11713596C |doi=10.1073/pnas.1922686117 |pmc=7306750 |pmid=32482862 |doi-access=free}}</ref> As of 2012, some studies suggest that 25% of all mammal species could be extinct in 20 years.<ref>{{cite news |date=7 June 2012 |title=Researches find threat from biodiversity loss equals climate change threat |newspaper=[[Winnipeg Free Press]] |url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/researches-find-threat-from-biodiversity-loss-equals-climate-change-threat-157847545.html}}</ref>

In absolute terms, the planet has lost 58% of its biodiversity since 1970 according to a 2016 study by the World Wildlife Fund.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/publications/964/files/original/lpr_living_planet_report_2016.pdf?1477582118&_ga=1.148678772.2122160181.1464121326 |title=Living Planet Report 2016 Risk and resilience in a new era |date=2016 |publisher=World Wildlife Fund International |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807200945/https://c402277.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/publications/964/files/original/lpr_living_planet_report_2016.pdf?1477582118&_ga=1.148678772.2122160181.1464121326 |archive-date=7 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Living Planet Report 2014 claims that "the number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago". Of that number, 39% accounts for the terrestrial wildlife gone, 39% for the marine wildlife gone and 76% for the freshwater wildlife gone. Biodiversity took the biggest hit in [[Latin America]], plummeting 83 percent. High-income countries showed a 10% increase in biodiversity, which was canceled out by a loss in low-income countries. This is despite the fact that high-income countries use five times the ecological resources of low-income countries, which was explained as a result of a process whereby wealthy nations are outsourcing [[resource depletion]] to poorer nations, which are suffering the greatest ecosystem losses.<ref name="LivingPlanetReport2014">{{citation |title=Living Planet Report 2014 |url=http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/723/files/original/LPR2014_low_res-2.pdf?1412025775 |access-date=4 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006101711/http://assets.worldwildlife.org/publications/723/files/original/LPR2014_low_res-2.pdf?1412025775 |url-status=dead |publisher=World Wildlife Fund |format=PDF |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

A 2017 study published in ''[[PLOS One]]'' found that the biomass of insect life in Germany had declined by three-quarters in the last 25 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hallmann |first1=Caspar A. |last2=Sorg |first2=Martin |last3=Jongejans |first3=Eelke |last4=Siepel |first4=Henk |last5=Hofland |first5=Nick |last6=Schwan |first6=Heinz |last7=Stenmans |first7=Werner |last8=Müller |first8=Andreas |last9=Sumser |first9=Hubert |last10=Hörren |first10=Thomas |last11=Goulson |first11=Dave |date=2017-10-18 |title=More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect biomass in protected areas |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=e0185809 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1285809H |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809 |pmc=5646769 |pmid=29045418 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Dave Goulson of [[Sussex University]] stated that their study suggested that humans "appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. If we lose the insects then everything is going to collapse."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |date=18 October 2017 |title=Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers |url-status=live |access-date=20 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711061707/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/18/warning-of-ecological-armageddon-after-dramatic-plunge-in-insect-numbers |archive-date=11 July 2022}}</ref>

In 2020 the [[World Wildlife Foundation]] published a report saying that "biodiversity is being destroyed at a rate unprecedented in human history". The report claims that 68% of the population of the examined species were destroyed in the years 1970 – 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Briggs |first1=Helen |date=10 September 2020 |title=Wildlife in 'catastrophic decline' due to human destruction, scientists warn |agency=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54091048 |access-date=3 December 2020}}</ref>

Of 70,000 monitored species, around 48% are experiencing population declines from human activity (in 2023), whereas only 3% have increasing populations.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=May 23, 2023 |title=Biodiversity: Almost half of animals in decline, research shows |work=BBC |location= |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65681648 |access-date=June 10, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Finn |first1=Catherine |last2=Grattarola |first2=Florencia |last3=Pincheira-Donoso |first3=Daniel |date=2023 |title=More losers than winners: investigating Anthropocene defaunation through the diversity of population trends |journal=Biological Reviews |volume= 98|issue= 5|pages= 1732–1748|doi=10.1111/brv.12974 |pmid=37189305 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Paddison |first=Laura |date=May 22, 2023 |title=Global loss of wildlife is 'significantly more alarming' than previously thought, according to a new study |work=CNN |location= |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/22/world/wildlife-crisis-biodiversity-scn-climate-intl/index.html |access-date=June 10, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Summary of major environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage change (red) relative to baseline - fcosc-01-615419-g001.jpg|thumb|Summary of major biodiversity-related environmental-change categories expressed as a percentage of human-driven change (in red) relative to baseline (blue)]]Rates of [[Biodiversity loss|decline in biodiversity]] in the current [[sixth mass extinction]] match or exceed rates of loss in the five previous [[Extinction event|mass extinction events]] in the [[fossil record]].{{refn|<ref>{{Cite journal|date = 25 July 2014 | title = Vanishing fauna (Special issue)|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|volume=345|issue=6195| pages = 392–412 |doi= 10.1126/science.345.6195.392| pmid = 25061199| last1 = Vignieri| first1 = S. | bibcode = 2014Sci...345..392V| doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |date=13 January 2022 |title=Strong evidence shows Sixth Mass Extinction of global biodiversity in progress |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/940163 |work=[[EurekAlert!]] |location= |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dirzo |first1=Rodolfo |last2=Young |first2=Hillary S. |last3=Galetti |first3=Mauro |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo |last5=Isaac |first5=Nick J. B. |last6=Collen |first6=Ben |title=Defaunation in the Anthropocene |journal=Science |date=25 July 2014 |volume=345 |issue=6195 |pages=401–406 |doi=10.1126/science.1251817 |pmid=25061202 |bibcode=2014Sci...345..401D |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1436030/ }}</ref><ref name="proceedings1"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koh |first1=Lian Pin |last2=Dunn |first2=Robert R. |last3=Sodhi |first3=Navjot S. |last4=Colwell |first4=Robert K. |last5=Proctor |first5=Heather C. |last6=Smith |first6=Vincent S. |title=Species Coextinctions and the Biodiversity Crisis |journal=Science |date=10 September 2004 |volume=305 |issue=5690 |pages=1632–1634 |doi=10.1126/science.1101101 |pmid=15361627 |bibcode=2004Sci...305.1632K }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCallum |first1=Malcolm L. |title=Amphibian Decline or Extinction? Current Declines Dwarf Background Extinction Rate |journal=Journal of Herpetology |date=September 2007 |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=483–491 |doi=10.1670/0022-1511(2007)41[483:ADOECD]2.0.CO;2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0802812105 | title = Colloquium Paper: Ecological extinction and evolution in the brave new ocean | year = 2008 | last1 = Jackson | first1 = J. B. C. | journal = [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] | volume = 105 | issue = Suppl 1 | pages = 11458–11465 | pmid=18695220 | pmc=2556419 | bibcode=2008PNAS..10511458J| doi-access = free }}
</ref><ref name="Modern Insect">{{cite journal |last1=Dunn |first1=Robert R. |title=Modern Insect Extinctions, the Neglected Majority |journal=Conservation Biology |date=August 2005 |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=1030–1036 |doi=10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00078.x |bibcode=2005ConBi..19.1030D }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ceballos | first1 = Gerardo| last2 = Ehrlich| first2 = Paul R.| last3 = Barnosky| first3= Anthony D. |author-link3=Anthony David Barnosky| last4 = García | first4 = Andrés| last5 = Pringle | first5 = Robert M.| last6 = Palmer| first6 =Todd M. | year = 2015 | title = Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction | journal = [[Science Advances]] | volume = 1 | issue = 5 | page = e1400253 | doi = 10.1126/sciadv.1400253 | pmid= 26601195| pmc=4640606| bibcode =2015SciA....1E0253C}}</ref>}} Biodiversity loss is in fact "one of the most critical manifestations of the [[Anthropocene]]" (since around the 1950s); the continued decline of biodiversity constitutes "an unprecedented threat" to the continued existence of human civilization.<ref name="Dirzo-2022">{{cite journal |last1=Dirzo |first1=Rodolfo |last2=Ceballos |first2=Gerardo |last3=Ehrlich |first3=Paul R. |author-link3=Paul R. Ehrlich |date=2022 |title=Circling the drain: the extinction crisis and the future of humanity |url= |journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]] |volume=377 |issue=1857 |pages= |doi=10.1098/rstb.2021.0378 |pmc=9237743 |pmid=35757873 }}</ref> The reduction is caused primarily by [[Human impact on the environment|human impacts]], particularly [[habitat destruction]].

Since the [[Stone Age]], species loss has accelerated above the average basal rate, driven by human activity. Estimates of species losses are at a rate 100–10,000 times as fast as is typical in the fossil record.<ref name="Hassan2005">{{Cite book |last=Hassan |first=Rashid M. |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=UFVmiSAr-okC|page=105}} |title=Ecosystems and human well-being: current state and trends : findings of the Condition and Trends Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment |publisher=Island Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55963-228-7 |page=105 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> 

Loss of biodiversity results in the loss of [[natural capital]] that supplies [[ecosystem services|ecosystem goods and services]]. Species today are being wiped out at a rate 100 to 1,000 times higher than baseline, and the rate of extinctions is increasing. This process destroys the resilience and adaptability of life on Earth.<ref>UK Government Official Documents, February 2021, [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf "The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages"] p. 1</ref>

In 2006, many species were formally classified as [[rare species|rare]] or [[endangered species|endangered]] or [[threatened species|threatened]]; moreover, scientists have estimated that millions more species are at risk which have not been formally recognized. About 40 percent of the 40,177 species assessed using the [[IUCN Red List]] criteria are now listed as threatened with [[extinction]]—a total of 16,119.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lovett |first=Richard A. |date=2 May 2006 |title=Endangered Species List Expands to 16,000 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_endangered.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805153429/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0502_060502_endangered.html |archive-date=5 August 2017 |work=National Geographic |df=dmy-all}}</ref> As of late 2022 9251 species were considered part of the IUCN's [[Critically Endangered|critically endangered]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics|title=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species}}</ref>

Numerous scientists and the [[IPBES]] ''[[Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services]]'' assert that [[human population growth]] and [[overconsumption]] are the primary factors in this decline.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stokstad |first1=Erik |date=6 May 2019 |title=Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.aax9287 |quote=For the first time at a global scale, the report has ranked the causes of damage. Topping the list, changes in land use—principally agriculture—that have destroyed habitat. Second, hunting and other kinds of exploitation. These are followed by climate change, pollution, and invasive species, which are being spread by trade and other activities. Climate change will likely overtake the other threats in the next decades, the authors note. Driving these threats are the growing human population, which has doubled since 1970 to 7.6 billion, and consumption. (Per capita of use of materials is up 15% over the past 5 decades.) |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pimm |first1=S. L. |last2=Jenkins |first2=C. N. |last3=Abell |first3=R. |last4=Brooks |first4=T. M. |last5=Gittleman |first5=J. L. |last6=Joppa |first6=L. N. |last7=Raven |first7=P. H. |last8=Roberts |first8=C. M. |last9=Sexton |first9=J. O. |title=The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection |journal=Science |date=30 May 2014 |volume=344 |issue=6187 |doi=10.1126/science.1246752 |pmid=24876501 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cafaro |first1=Philip |last2=Hansson |first2=Pernilla |last3=Götmark |first3=Frank |title=Overpopulation is a major cause of biodiversity loss and smaller human populations are necessary to preserve what is left |journal=[[Biological Conservation]] |date=August 2022 |volume=272 |pages=109646 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109646 |bibcode=2022BCons.27209646C|url=https://www.sustainable.soltechdesigns.com/Overpopulation-and-biodiversty-loss(2022).pdf |quote=Conservation biologists standardly list five main direct drivers of biodiversity loss: habitat loss, overexploitation of species, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. The ''Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services'' found that in recent decades habitat loss was the leading cause of terrestrial biodiversity loss, while overexploitation (overfishing) was the most important cause of marine losses (IPBES, 2019). All five direct drivers are important, on land and at sea, and all are made worse by larger and denser human populations.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crist |first1=Eileen |last2=Mora |first2=Camilo |last3=Engelman |first3=Robert |title=The interaction of human population, food production, and biodiversity protection |journal=Science |date=21 April 2017 |volume=356 |issue=6335 |pages=260–264 |doi=10.1126/science.aal2011 |pmid=28428391 |bibcode=2017Sci...356..260C }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ceballos|first1=Gerardo|last2=Ehrlich|first2=Paul R.|date=2023 |title=Mutilation of the tree of life via mass extinction of animal genera|url= |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]]|volume=120 |issue=39 |pages=e2306987120|doi=10.1073/pnas.2306987120|doi-access=free |pmid=37722053 |pmc=10523489 |bibcode=2023PNAS..12006987C |access-date=}}</ref> However, other scientists have criticized this finding and say that loss of habitat caused by "the growth of commodities for export" is the main driver.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hughes |first1=Alice C. |last2=Tougeron |first2=Kévin |last3=Martin |first3=Dominic A. |last4=Menga |first4=Filippo |last5=Rosado |first5=Bruno H. P. |last6=Villasante |first6=Sebastian |last7=Madgulkar |first7=Shweta |last8=Gonçalves |first8=Fernando |last9=Geneletti |first9=Davide |last10=Diele-Viegas |first10=Luisa Maria |last11=Berger |first11=Sebastian |last12=Colla |first12=Sheila R. |last13=de Andrade Kamimura |first13=Vitor |last14=Caggiano |first14=Holly |last15=Melo |first15=Felipe |date=2023-01-01 |title=Smaller human populations are neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for biodiversity conservation |journal=Biological Conservation |language=en |volume=277 |pages=109841 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109841 |quote=Through examining the drivers of biodiversity loss in highly biodiverse countries, we show that it is not population driving the loss of habitats, but rather the growth of commodities for export, particularly soybean and oil-palm, primarily for livestock feed or biofuel consumption in higher income economies. |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023BCons.27709841H }}</ref> A 2025 study found that human activities are responsible for biodiversity loss across all species and ecosystems.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weston|first=Phoebe |date=March 26, 2025 |title=Biodiversity loss in all species and every ecosystem linked to humans – report|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/26/human-link-biodiversity-loss-species-ecosystems-climate-pollution-eawag-study-nature-aoe|location= |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=March 29, 2025}}</ref>

Some studies have however pointed out that habitat destruction for the expansion of agriculture and the [[overexploitation]] of wildlife are the more significant drivers of contemporary biodiversity loss, not [[climate change]].<ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Ketcham |first=Christopher |date=December 3, 2022 |title=Addressing Climate Change Will Not "Save the Planet" |work=[[The Intercept]] |location= |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/12/03/climate-biodiversity-green-energy/ |access-date=December 8, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Caro |first1=Tim |last2=Rowe |first2=Zeke |last3=Berger |first3=Joel |last4=Wholey |first4=Philippa |last5=Dobson |first5=Andrew |title=An inconvenient misconception: Climate change is not the principal driver of biodiversity loss |journal=Conservation Letters |date=May 2022 |volume=15 |issue=3 |doi=10.1111/conl.12868 |bibcode=2022ConL...15E2868C |doi-access=free }}</ref>