Global climate change, including sea-level rise, drought and extreme heat, is no doubt taking a toll on our planet ― but it’s far from the biggest threat humans have imposed on Earth’s plant and animal species.
A new analysis of threatened wildlife has provided a much-needed dose of perspective, showing that age-old human activities, including logging, hunting and farming, continue to pose a greater and more urgent threat.
Despite a “growing tendency for media reports about threats to biodiversity to focus on climate change,” over-exploitation and agriculture are “by far the biggest drivers of biodiversity decline,” the authors write in a comment published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The group found that over-exploitation, including logging, hunting, fishing and the gathering of plants, tops the list of biodiversity’s “biggest killers,” affecting 72 percent of the 8,688 species listed by IUCN as threatened or near-threatened. Agricultural activity impacts 62 percent of those species, while urban development and pollution threaten 35 and 22 percent, respectively.
Somewhat surprisingly, climate change ranked seventh of the 11 threats studied. Its effects ― including sea-level rise, extreme temperatures, storms and drought ― currently threaten 19 percent of those 8,000-plus species, according to the findings.
Advertisement
Addressing “old foes,” Maxwell said in a statement, will be “key to turning around the biodiversity extinction crisis.”
Maxwell did not immediately respond to The Huffington Post’s request for comment.
Researchers said Africa’s cheetah and Asia’s hairy-nosed otter are among the 5,407 species affected by agricultural practices, while illegal hunting continues to deplete numerous populations, including the Sumatran rhinoceros and Western gorilla. Some 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers, often for nothing more than their tusks.
One of the 1,688 species directly affected by climate change is the hooded seal, which the report says has seen populations decline by 90 percent in the northeastern Atlantic Arctic over the last several decades, mainly as a result of declining sea ice.
Not specifically mentioned in the analysis are corals, which have become a kind of poster child for climate change. Coral reefs have been devastated by the “longest and most widespread“ bleaching event on record, a phenomenon in which stressed corals expel algae and turn white, often as a result of warming ocean temperatures.
Advertisement
Thomas Brooks, a co-author of the report and head of IUCN’s science and knowledge unit, told The New Yorker that while addressing climate change remains crucial, there are more immediate threats to the world’s imperiled species.
“If we don’t address them, we’re going to lose most of our biodiversity, no matter what we do about climate change,” he told the publication.
The analysis’ release comes just weeks before Hawaii hosts IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, during which thousands of environmental policy-makers from around the world will meet to set conservation priorities.
In the new report, researchers have urged IUCN delegates to focus on prioritizing threats with the greatest impact on species loss.
Advertisement
“Actions such as well managed protected areas, enforcement of hunting regulations, and managing agricultural systems in ways that allow threatened species to persist within them, all have a major role to play in reducing the biodiversity crisis,” James Watson, a report co-author and director of science and research initiative at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a statement.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.