UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, says humanity is “waging a war on nature” by threatening biodiversity loss, climate disruption and escalating pollution.
Guterres told a webinar, ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity (Biodiversity) on May 22, that “we would all be losers if we did not achieve peace with the planet.”
He explained that nature sustained life and provided opportunities, services and solutions, noting that a healthy planet is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
”Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented and alarming rate and the pressures are intensifying.
“We have failed to meet any of our internationally agreed biodiversity targets,” he said.
Guterres said that one million species were at risk of extinction, ecosystems disappearing before our eyes, deserts spreading and wetlands being lost.
“Every year, 10 million hectares of forests are lost, oceans are overfished and choking with plastic waste as the carbon dioxide they absorb is acidifying the seas, bleaching and killing coral reefs.
“And the total annual international public finance for nature is significantly less than the subsidies causing its degradation. We are depleting resources faster than nature can replenish them,” he said.
The UN chief said that the pandemic had highlighted the intimate relationship between people and nature.
He said changes in land use and encroachment on wild habitats were the primary paths for emerging infectious diseases such as the deadly Ebola and COVID-19 viruses.
“Three-quarters of new and emerging human infectious diseases are zoonotic, jumping from animals to humans.
”And against this backdrop, tackling the current COVID-19 crisis provides an opportunity to recover better, he said.
In her Biodiversity Day message, Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said planet’s challenges were so acute and that ”we do not have the luxury of waiting around for someone else to step up and take action.”
She explained that UNEP supported countries in monitoring and managing their biodiversity as best as it could and sounds the alarm on what science was saying regarding biodiversity loss.
The agency also worked with decision-makers to factor in assets provided by nature to limit destruction caused by economic activity.
It also mobilised the entire UN system to support biodiversity through each of their mandates. (NAN)
