EARTH IS experiencing its “sixth great extinction event” with disease and human activity taking a devastating toll on vulnerable species, according to a major review by conservationists.
Much of the southern hemisphere is suffering particularly badly, and Australia, New Zealand and neighbouring Pacific islands may become the extinction hot spots of the world, the report warns.
Ecosystems in Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia need urgent and effective conservation policies, or the region’s already poor record on extinctions will worsen significantly.
Researchers trawled 24,000 reports to compile information on the native flora and fauna of Australasia and the Pacific islands, which have six of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.
“Our region has the notorious distinction of having possibly the worst extinction record on Earth,” said Richard Kingsford, an environmental scientist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and lead author of the report.
“We have an amazing natural environment, but so much of it is being destroyed before our eyes. Species are being threatened by habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, climate change, over-exploitation, pollution and wildlife disease.”
The review, published in the journal Conservation Biology, highlights destruction and degradation of ecosystems as the main threat.
In Australia, agriculture has altered or destroyed half of all woodland and forests. Around 70 per cent of the remaining forest has been damaged by logging. Loss of habitats is behind 80 per cent of threatened species, the report claims.
Invasive animals and plants have devastated native species on many Pacific islands. The Guam Micronesian kingfisher, for example, is thought to be extinct in the wild following the introduction of the brown tree snake.
More than 2,500 invasive plant species have colonised Australia and New Zealand, competing for sunlight and nutrients. Many have been introduced by governments, horticulturists and hunters.
The report sets out a raft of recommendations to slow the decline by introducing laws to limit land clearing, logging and mining; restricting deliberate introduction of invasive species; reducing carbon emissions and pollution; and limiting fisheries. It raises concerns about bottom trawling, and the use of cyanide and dynamite, and calls for early-warning systems to pick up diseases in the wild. – ( Guardianservice)