Billions of people worldwide depend on around 50,000 wild species for food, according to a comprehensive new scientific report that concludes that humans must make dramatic changes to hunting and other practices to address an accelerating biodiversity crisis. Get Energy, Medicine and Income.
The report, prepared for the United Nations over four years by 85 experts from 33 countries, is the most comprehensive look yet at ways to use wild species sustainably, or in ways that do not result in the long-term decline of these resources, or ensure their availability for future generations. It draws on thousands of scholarly studies and other references, including a collection of indigenous and local knowledge. Indigenous and poor communities are among those most directly affected by the overexploitation of wild species, according to the report.
“Half of humanity benefits from and uses wild species, often without even knowing they are doing so,” said Marla R. Emery, one of the co-chairs of the assessment, published by the Intergovernmental Science policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services . A summary was approved by representatives from 139 countries, including the United States, in Bonn, Germany on Thursday, with the full report due to be released in a few months.
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But the focus of this latest assessment was to provide a more optimistic outlook on how wild species can be used sustainably by people around the world, said Jean-Marc Fromentin, also a co-chair.
A third of wild species that humans use in some way that are also on the “Red List” — those listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — have experienced stable or increasing population trends despite human use, a quoted in the report Study. This suggests that “the use of these specific species is not yet directly contributing to their extinction, as far as we can tell,” said Sophie Marsh, a masters student in biodiversity at University College London and lead author of the endangered species study. which was released in 2021.
Indigenous and local knowledge is critical to learning some best practices for sustainable use, the report says, but traditionally it has been underutilized. Indigenous communities have long incorporated sustainable use of wild species into their cultural practices, and an estimated 15 percent of global forests are managed as “community resources” by indigenous peoples and local communities, the report said.
The report referred to practices used in the hills of the Cordillera region of Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island. There, “the entire community is mobilizing to protect the forest,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, an indigenous rights activist who grew up in the area. The practice is called Batangan, a resource management system that involves a shared sense of responsibility for monitoring forest diversity and planting new trees as the older trees age.
It’s not just about the trees, “it’s about the water, the plants and animals, the microorganisms,” and increasingly also about climate change, as forests play a crucial role in sequestering carbon, Ms Tauli-Corpuz said.
The sustainable use of wild species is central to the identity and existence of many indigenous and local communities, the report says.
“When wildlife disappears, our culture, lifestyle and livelihood are at risk,” said Viviana Figueroa, an Argentine indigenous advocate and activist who participated in dialogues with the report’s authors on biodiversity as part of her engagement with the International Indigenous Forum. “There is still work to be done, but at least there is some recognition,” Ms. Figueroa said.
Future policies on wild species use need to consider the social and historical dimensions of sustainability and whether the benefits from that use are shared equitably. For example, vicuña fiber, found in luxury clothing, is expensive and produced by mostly low-income indigenous communities in South America, who help protect the vicuña by allowing the animals to graze on their communal or private land.
Still, it is “nearly impossible” for a remote Andean community to deal with an international textile company or place their product on the international market, the report said, meaning most of the profits from the vicuna fiber trade come from merchants be taken and textile companies.
The fishing industry must reduce unregulated and illegal fishing, support more small-scale fisheries and quash harmful subsidies that encourage overfishing, the report recommended. The timber industry also needs to invest in technology that reduces waste in the manufacture of timber products, according to the report’s conclusions, and governments may need to tighten bans or regulations on game meat in some regions, while also considering whether these policies could affect the food insecurity in these areas.
The findings of the new report could soon have a direct impact on international politics. The report was prepared in part at the request of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an agreement designed to ensure that global trade in plants and animals does not endanger their survival in the wild. The parties will use the results of the assessment to make trade decisions at their conference in Panama in November.
Depletion of wildlife is not the only factor driving the decline; Man-made climate change is also a major force, the report said. Growing populations and consumption, as well as technological advances that make many mining practices more efficient, will also put greater pressure on wildlife.
“We need to ensure that these policy tools benefit everyone,” said Emma Archer, a professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and one of the lead authors of the assessment. “There doesn’t have to be winners and losers.”