Latin America is once again the region with the highest trend in biodiversity loss

The 2022 edition of the Living Planet Report emphasizes the speed and scale of the negative impact that human activities have on nature, manifested in the 69% average decline in the abundance of mammal, reptile, bird, fish and amphibian populations around the world. In addition, this WWF (World Conservation Organization) report, which is published every two years, confirms again that it is in Latin America and the Caribbean -one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet-, where the highest regional decline is recorded, with a 94% decrease in the monitored populations.  The Living Planet Report published worldwide by WWF – an organization that Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina represents in our country – makes clear the stark panorama of the state of biodiversity and urgently warns governments, companies and the public to take transformative measures to reverse its destruction. It also highlights that the world faces a double emergency induced by human beings, composed of the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity, which threaten the well-being of humanity.” Just as it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is urgent to reverse the loss of biodiversity and the decline and degradation of ecosystems. The Report gives us essential information to re-establish our broken relationship with the natural world and shows how pressing it is to integrate principles of environmental and social justice at the heart of change. In the framework of the next UN COP15 biodiversity conference, it is a priority to promote a global plan that, like the Paris Agreement, aims to reverse losses and improve the health of wild populations and ecosystems, “said Luis Germán Naranjo, Director of Conservation of WWF Colombia.The report shows the results of monitoring almost 32,000 populations of 5,230 species on the planet and offers the clearest picture on its evolution that is counted so far. The measurement parameter is the Living Planet Index (IPV), which tracks abundance in populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. The relevance of the recorded trends is that it shows a snapshot of changes in ecosystems and alerts about their state of health. Similarly, the IPV allows to observe measures of success when appropriate conservation policies are applied. In terms of species, freshwater populations show a greater overall decline globally at 83%. To cite an example, one of the populations evaluated is the Amazon pink dolphin, which suffered a 65% decrease due to the increase in selective fishing, as well as the pressures imposed by the rapid growth of the human population. Half of the planet’s corals have been lost, which generates negative impacts on other species, since they host 1/4 of all marine species and support a complex trophic chain that includes us. Likewise, the abundance in the world of 18 of the 31 species of sharks and ocean rays has been reduced by 71% in the last fifty years. In a local key, in the Argentine Sea there are about 12 species of large sharks, present both on the coasts, in the open sea, and in the depths. Among them the Escalandrún, one of the representatives par excellence of our coasts, which is currently in critical danger of extinction. The main direct factors identified as responsible for the degradation of land, marine and freshwater systems are land use changes, overexploitation of flora and fauna, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species. The Report argues that the dual environmental crisis can be mitigated by increased conservation and restoration efforts, more sustainable food production and consumption, and the rapid and profound decarbonisation of all sectors. The 89 authors who participated in the writing and research of this report call on policymakers to transform economies so that natural resources are properly valued. Manuel Jaramillo, general director of Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, reinforced that “we urgently need to move to sustainable practices in agriculture and food systems, as well as in fishing, energy and mining, even in infrastructure and construction. Governments need to commit to ambitious and transformative actions in these key productive sectors to ensure a positive planet for nature by 2030.”

The report reveals a decreaseAn average of 69% in wildlife populations monitored between 1970 and 2018.

Latin America, a high-priority region
The Report notes that wildlife abundance trends vary by region, with tropical wildlife increasingly declining. Likewise, new cartographic analysis techniques suggest that there are areas that have a high probability of impact on wildlife due to threats such as agriculture or logging and their high species richness. Deforestation in tropical areas generates carbon emissions and leads to warmer and drier local climates, increasing the number of droughts and fires and, depending on their magnitude, reduces rainfall and modifies their global patterns. This is therefore detrimental to the climate, food security and livelihoods of millions of people around the world. The contribution of forests to food security and nutrition requires greater attention in forest policies, as their deterioration will result in a reduction in agricultural productivity. In that sense, ten areas of high priority for risk mitigation were identified, some of these in Latin America: the Amazon basin (which is constituted by all the rivers that drain into the Amazon River); the Atlantic Forest (located in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay); and the northern Andes to Panama and Costa Rica. With regard to the Atlantic Forest in our country (known as the missionary forest), an analysis of the land use cover of the last 37 years indicates that in Argentina we lost almost 20% of the forests that existed in 1985 (approximately 305 thousand hectares), at an average rate of 8,260 hectares per year. In turn, it is highlighted that the lands occupied by these ecosystems are currently destined to agriculture (60%), afforestation (27%) and pastures (10%). In this ecosystem still survives less than 1% of the jaguar population that is estimated to have existed in the region before the arrival of Europeans. Population estimates for 2020 indicate that there are approximately between 76 and 106 jaguars (with an average of 90) that inhabit the Atlantic Forest. In most areas where it persists, its population densities are very low and local extinction could be imminent if urgent action is not taken to reverse this situation. Another of the most threatened areas of our country is the Gran Chaco, an ecoregion shared with Paraguay, which is among the sites with the highest deforestation in the world. In recent decades we have lost 30% of the Chaco forests and their natural environments and biodiversity continue to be destroyed at an alarming rate. The Living Planet Report also highlights the situation in the Amazon, the largest and most biologically and culturally diverse tropical forest in the world, whose basin is 17% degraded. Right to a healthy environment
Of particular relevance in the 2022 edition of the Report, designed to promote action and reflection, is the role given to human rights as a trigger for transformative social changes. The document identifies climate breakdown, nature loss, pollution and the Covid-19 pandemic as hinge situations that have put human rights in crisis, and welcomes the fact that the UN General Assembly recognized, last July, the right of people to a healthy environment. In more than 80 countries where the right to a healthy environment was recognized, the result was the creation of stronger environmental laws and policies, as well as better implementation, greater participation of society and, most important of all, better environmental performance. It is a catalyst for systemic change, which citizens have used to protect threatened species and endangered ecosystems.” Humanity sought to discover nature, and then to dominate it. Today we know that the survival of our species and all those that inhabit the planet depends on our ability to reverse that paradigm and strengthen efforts to conserve, restore and regenerate it,” concluded Manuel Jaramillo, general director of Wildlife.

Original source in Spanish