Countries fail to meet all targets to stop the destruction of biodiversity set for 2020

This 2020 is the date to reach the so-called Aichi Biodiversity Goals, 20 key objectives that were set 10 years ago on an international scale to stop the alarming destruction of nature on the planet.

However, the fifth report of the Global Outlook on Biodiversity, presented this Tuesday, is categorical: none of these commitments, not a single one, will be fully met.

A bad result that has negative implications not only for species and ecosystems, but also for humans themselves.

If in May of last year, the report of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) estimated that there are a million species in danger of extinction in the world and warned that this has a direct impact on the capacity of the planet to sustain quality human life, this new work now affects how the current coronavirus crisis "has further highlighted the importance of the relationship between people and nature."

"As we degrade ecosystems, the risk of future pandemics increases," said David Cooper, executive undersecretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and responsible for presenting this fifth global review report.

In his remote appearance, Cooper also highlighted some progress, such as the decrease between 2011 and 2020 of about a third of the deforestation rate in the world compared to the previous decade, or the increase in the area of ​​protected areas, that in the last 20 years they went from 10% to 15% in land areas and from 3% to 7% in marinas.

However, overall, the evaluation concludes that only 6 of the 20 goals set for this year 2020 will be partially met.

According to goal number 5, for example, by 2020 the rate of loss of all natural habitats should be reduced by at least half and, where feasible, to a value close to zero.

However, the evaluation assures that "the loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitats continues to be high in forests" and "especially in ecosystems with greater biological diversity in tropical regions".

Furthermore, "the world's natural wilderness areas and wetlands continue to decline" and "river fragmentation remains a critical threat to freshwater biological diversity."

Goal 6 also established that by 2020 all fish and invertebrate reserves and aquatic plants should be managed and cultivated in a sustainable way, ensuring that fishing activities do not have significant detrimental impacts on endangered species and vulnerable ecosystems.

But, as the report points out, today “a third of marine fish stocks (a higher proportion than 10 years ago) are overexploited” and “many fisheries are still causing unsustainable levels of bycatch of unwanted species and damage to marine habitats ”.

Goal 14 specified that by 2020 ecosystems that provide essential services, including water-related services, and that contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, should have been restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women. , indigenous and local communities and the poor and vulnerable.

However, according to the assessment, "the capacity of ecosystems to provide the essential services on which societies depend continues to decline."

"In general, this decline disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable communities, as well as women," says the work, which also ensures that "the species of birds and mammals responsible for pollination are approaching extinction on average, as well as the species that are used for food and medicine ”.

For Gemma Rodríguez, head of the Species Program at WWF Spain, "all these alarming data do not have the impact they should have".

"In biodiversity issues the urgency that begins to be perceived with the climate is not verified."

As it affects, this occurs fundamentally for not having yet managed to transfer to society the importance of species and ecosystems for the well-being of humans.

"The scientific literature has already been warning for a long time of the relationship between loss of biodiversity and zoonoses [infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans], but this did not generate any alert," he emphasizes.