Wild species can help feed the world

By TIM SCHAUENBERG

Transformative changes” are needed to save wild species from extinction and preserve ecosystems that are essential to human life, say the authors of a new landmark report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The report on the “Sustainable Use of Wild Species” examines options for using algae, animals, fungi, land-based and aquatic plants in a sustainable way. The result of four years of work by nearly 300 experts and scientists, along with representatives of Indigenous communities, the report is the most detailed scientific summary to date on the benefits of wild species to life on Earth.

“Almost half the world’s population actually depend to a greater or lesser extent on the use of wild species. And it’s much more prevalent than most people think,” said John Donaldson, co-chair of IPBES. Currently, about a million species worldwide are threatened with extinction as biodiversity and ecosystem health deteriorates at unprecedented rates. This undermines economic prosperity while harming the health and quality of life of people around the world.

Due to man-made climate change, the Earth is currently heading for a warming of 2.7 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit) by century’s end compared to pre-industrial times. This level of warming will, compared to normal temperatures, increase the risk to endangered species in extinction hotspots ten fold. The report builds on findings by researchers that a sixth mass extinction is already underway. It notes that the nurturing of wild species of fish, insects, fungi, algae, wild fruits, forests or birds of any kind are fundamental to building and preserving sustainable ecosystems.

Protecting wild species and their ecosystems will help secure the livelihoods of millions of people, says the report. Sustainable management of wild species would further bolster one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals of fighting poverty and hunger, it adds. Two-thirds of all food crops, for example, depend largely on wild pollinators. Meanwhile, wild plants, fungi and algae are part of the diet of one-fifth of the global population. Some 70% of low-income people globally are directly dependent on wild species, with the use of wild tree species an important source of income for millions worldwide.

But at the same time, the two billion people who need wood for cooking are destroying biodiversity. Most access unsustainable timber, with around 5 million hectares of forest lost annually through deforestation. Wild species can also produce income without harvesting them for food or cutting down their habitat. Nature tourism such as scuba diving, bushwalking or wildlife viewing generated $120 billion in revenue in 2018. National parks and protected areas were visited by 8 billion people worldwide before the pandemic, generating about $600 billion per year.

Bluefin tuna had been on the verge of extinction since the 1980s due to the rising popularity of sushi, noted Donaldson. But the shortening of the fishing season, an increase in the minimum size of the fish, new tools to monitor and control fishing activity, and a sharp reduction in fishing capacity, as well as annual quotas, have seen stocks recover.

“Where you get the management done properly,” said Donaldson, it not only increases sustainability but “allows for the recovery of stocks where they’ve been over-utilised.” The authors recommend similar levels of innovation in the timber industry, including the establishment of a functioning certification system, an end to illegal logging, strong state regulations, forestry that respects the land rights of Indigenous peoples and nurtures wild species instead of monocultures. When proposing how ecosystems could be better protected and used, the report highlights the role of Indigenous communities.

This article was provided by Deutsche Welle