Two planets needed to sustain our lifestyles by 2030s - WWF report
Wed 29 October 2008
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The world is heading for an environmental crisis far worse than the current financial 'credit crunch' because the rapidly growing population is building up a massive 'ecological debt' to the planet. The WWF's latest Living Planet Report says that by the mid 2030s humans will need the ecological resources equivalent to two planets if we are to continue consuming at levels currently projected.
WWF's 2008 report says that demand for resources already exceeds the planet's capacity to replenish its ‘natural capital’ by about 30%. In addition, it shows that populations of nearly 1,700 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have declined on average by nearly 30% since 1970. The situation is particularly bleak in tropical regions, where the average fall is 51%.
WWF says that "these extremely disappointing downward trends stem from a growing human population’s increasing ‘footprint’: our rampant consumption of resources such as timber and paper, water, energy, agricultural crops, meat and dairy products, fish and seafood, and land for infrastructure – as well as the impacts associated with disposing of waste products".
“Our natural environment is already bowing under this pressure,” said Colin Butfield, WWF’s Head of Campaigns. “The danger is that the ecological recession will be followed by a widespread and irreversible breakdown in our most important natural systems.”
Quoted in The Guardian, Sir David King, the Government's former chief scientific adviser, said: "We all need to agree that there's a crisis of understanding, that we're removing the planet's biodiverse resources at a rate which is as fast if not faster than the world's last great extinction."
In mid-October WWF UK also released a report entitled "One Planet Mobility: A journey towards a sustainable future" which outlines a systemic approach to understanding the impacts and drivers of personal mobility (see associated link to the report)
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