Studying species intensely has been an ongoing project for at least the last decade. The scientists of nearly every country conducted an earnest effort to assess and count species and their populations. Now, this report is very serious, no one should be putting it aside or diminishing it's importance, however, some of the problems that are causing problems are also workable to end the danger. The one danger, in particular, our ocean species are facing is plastics. So, there is much work to do and for the aspects of this report that are workable, the work needs to begin.
On 22 May at 10:00 A.M., (click here) #BiodiversityDay, the IPBES slogan 'Science and Policy for People and Nature' will be well-served in Washington D.C. as Sir Bob Watson, Eduardo S. Brondizio and Yunne Shin testify before the House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife oversight hearing entitled, “Responding to the Global Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem."
Nature is declining globally (click here) at rates unprecedented in human history — and the rate of species extinction is accelerating, with grave impacts on people around the world now likely, warns a landmark new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the summary of which was approved at the 7th session of the IPBES Plenary, meeting last week (29 April – 4 May) in Paris.
“The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture,” said IPBES Chair, Sir Robert Watson. “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”
“The Report also tells us that it is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global,” he said. “Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably – this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic and social factors, including paradigms, goals and values.”
“The member States of IPBES Plenary have now acknowledged that, by its very nature, transformative change can expect opposition from those with interests vested in the status quo, but also that such opposition can be overcome for the broader public good,” Watson said.
The IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive ever completed. It is the first intergovernmental Report of its kind and builds on the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, introducing innovative ways of evaluating evidence....
