06/03/2019
Some
100 bird species are forecast to go extinct based on current farming and
forestry practices, according to a new global analysis. During the first 10
years of this century, this figure has increased by 7 per cent, with
cattle farming the biggest factor, along with the impact of oil seed crops
(such as palm and soy). By comparison, roughly 140 species have been lost
during the last 400 years.
The study
has recently been published in the Nature Ecology & Evolution journal,
with the researchers using bird extinction as a measure of the loss of
biodiversity linked with international trade in food and timber. Alarmingly,
the findings show that international trade can drive threats to animal species
far from the countries where the goods are consumed.
In 2011,
a quarter of biodiversity impacts in Africa and a roughly a third in Central
and South America were driven by the increased demand and consumption of good
from other parts of the globe. The researchers estimated the number of species
at risk of extinction due to the conversion of natural habitat to land for
agriculture and forestry between 2000 and 2011, with the predicted figure as
high as 121 if there is no change to current land use.
One of
the researchers, Professor Henrique Pereira of the German Centre for
Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), explained that such losses can't be
addressed with adding individual human responsibility (such as what people buy
and eat). He said: "We have to provide more information for consumers on
that – so that they know what they are buying."
Co-researcher
Alexandra Marques added: "We must address unsustainable patterns of
consumption driven by economic growth. Our choices here will have consequences
elsewhere."
Ariel
Brunner, from BirdLife Europe, said the study adds to a growing body of
evidence showing that unsustainable food and farming system is "at the
very heart of the ecological crisis – both in terms of driving the
collapse of biodiversity and contributing to climate change."
