Many of us are aware of the climate crisis facing the Earth and its inhabitants – now a new study warns of a coming “biodiversity crisis” due to population growth.
Yale University researchers calculated the effect of a projected 590,000 square miles (1.53 million square kilometers) of urban expansion over the next 30 years.
They found that globally, such an expansion directly threatens a total of 855 animal species at real risk of extinction, especially in “biodiversity hotspots”.
Particularly threatened species include the Javan slow loris, a poached primate native to the island of Java in Indonesia, and the red-headed warbler, a bird found in Mexico and Guatemala.
The species most under pressure from expansion are concentrated in areas from central Mexico to Central America, the Caribbean, Haiti, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil and Ecuador.
Populations of the Javan slow loris (pictured) have already declined dramatically due to poaching for the exotic pet trade. It is also used in research related to conventional medicine.
SPECIES AT RISK OF THE BIODIVERSITY CRISIS
– Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus)
– Pink warbler (Cardellina versicolor)
– Bamenda cane frog (Hyperolius ademetzi)
– Lionhead Dragon (Calotes liocephalus)
The new assessment was led by Rohan Simkin, a researcher at the Yale School of the Environment in New Haven, Connecticut.
“One of the goals of the study was to identify those species that are not only endangered, but especially threatened due to urban development,” Simkin said.
“I think the average person on the street is now well aware of the climate crisis, but I’m not sure they are aware of the biodiversity crisis.”
Over the next 30 years, the world’s urban population is projected to increase by 2.5 billion, greatly increasing the spread of cities.
Much of this urban expansion is projected to take place in biodiversity hotspots—areas rich in species that are at high risk of being destroyed by human activity.
But the researchers say focusing on urban planning that protects habitats, such as cities with lots of green spaces, could limit the harmful effects of new concrete.
Despite the potential loss of species due to land expansion, author Karen Seto of Yale University said the study highlights how cities can actively protect biodiversity.
“Most of these places have yet to be built,” she said. “Science policies shaping how tomorrow’s cities are built will have a huge impact.”
Pictured is the pink warbler, a bird native to the southwestern highlands of Guatemala and the central and southeastern highlands of the Mexican state of Chiapas.
For the study, the team used the Yale Life Map, a species distribution dataset used to monitor, research, and develop policies that protect species around the world.
It also used newly developed land-use projections to estimate future habitat loss from urban land expansion for over 30,000 terrestrial species worldwide.
Urban expansion is a major cause of habitat loss for about one-third of these species, although a much smaller proportion are threatened with extinction.
The study found that the biggest impacts on species are not the world’s largest cities, but urban areas that are home to “a myriad of endemic species” and where expansion could destroy habitats.
The researchers say focusing on urban planning that protects habitats, such as cities with lots of green spaces, could limit the harmful effects of new concrete. The photo shows a “green” building with climbing plants (archive photo)
Unfortunately, according to experts, these areas are rapidly becoming more and more urbanized.
Many of these cities are in equatorial regions, where urban growth could lead to the destruction of valuable and “biodiversity” habitats.
The cities that pose the greatest threat to species due to expansion are predominantly located in the developing tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Mesoamerica, and Southeast Asia.
Overall, the study shows how important it is for global conservation efforts to include conservation policies on urban lands.
“Cities are actually part of the solution,” Seto said. “We can build cities differently than before.
“They can be good for the planet; they can save species; they can be centers of biodiversity and save the land for nature.”
The full results have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The results of the study and predicted patterns of urban expansion and impacts on biodiversity can also be found here.
SCIENTISTS STRENGTHEN SEARCH FOR UNSUSTAINABLE ‘ASIAN UNICORN’ TRYING TO SAVE IT FROM EXTINCTION
Scientists are stepping up the search for the elusive “Asian unicorn”, one of the rarest animals in the world, to save it from extinction.
The Asian unicorn, also called the saola, is native to the mountains of Vietnam and Laos, but is critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List.
With its long horns and white muzzle markings, the saola resembles the antelope of North Africa, but is more closely related to wild cattle.
Saola was discovered as a species new to science only in 1992 in the Vietnamese reserve Vu Kuang, near the border with Laos, according to the remains of the animal.
But no biologist has ever reported seeing it in the wild, and it was last seen in the wild nine years ago only thanks to secret cameras hidden in the trees.
Read also: Scientists step up search for elusive ‘Asian unicorn’