Did you know globally we now require the equivalent of 1.4 planets to support our lifestyles? Population growth, habitat destruction and wildlife hunting have all contributed to the exploitation of our environment at a rate which is not sustainable.
The loss and destruction of forests, wetlands, coral reefs and other ecosystems is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Forests, for example, house much of the land’s biodiversity. However, 45 percent of the Earth’s original forests are gone and 12 million hectares of forest are being lost a year.
Biodiversity has declined by more than a quarter in the last 35 years.
The extinction of species is 1000 times the natural rate and it is estimated that 34 000 plant and 5200 animal species face extinction in the future.
Half the calories we eat come from just three of the world’s 30,000 edible plants (rice, wheat and corn).
Biodiversity is fast eroding. The last time anything comparable happened was 65 million years ago, when a third of all species, including the dinosaurs, were killed off in a mass extinction.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the monetary value of goods and services provided by ecosystems is estimated to be US$33 trillion per year.
Every year we throw away 24 million tons of leaves and grass. Leaves alone account for 75% of our solid waste in the fall.
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