Assignment of 24/Feb week : Form 1___ name

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Please read the article and answer the following questions by your own words:
Question 1: What does the WWF 2018 Living Planet Report tell us about?

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Question 2: How severe is the human impact on nature? Please use data to support your
opinion.___________________________________________________________________

Question 3: Why do we need to keep the abundances of biodiversity?

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Question 4: Please list out some of the example how human over consume the natural
resource? _________________________________________________________________

Question 5: please find the term in this article that describe the production of natural
resource mother earth can provide?
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Question 6: What is land degradation? Please list some example from this passage.

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Question 7: What is the function of forest? What is the adverse effect of deforestation?

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Question 8: What is plastic pollution and how does it affect our marine ecosystem?

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Question 9: How human impact on vertebrate animal? where and whom are suffered most?

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Question 10: Please use any information from this article to draw a poster A4 size (hard or
soft copy) to arouse public concern on nature conservation.
Human Impact on Biodiversity 2018
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) published their 2018 Living Planet Report in
October, revealing stark findings about humanity’s impact on the
environment, animal populations, and animal habitats, and the likelihood of
extinction for a number of species if human actions and attitudes towards
the Earth and its resources do not change now. The report described human
impacts on the planet since the industrial revolution, the animal species
that are currently under threat, the modern causes of animal extinction, and
the consequences of sustained harmful human behaviour for the
environment. Most alarming of all, in the past four decades, an average of
60% of various animal species populations have declined as a result of
human activity. The report is frank; unless we change our habits and
attitudes towards the world now, we will drive this planet to its brink and
leave it unsustainable and unlivable for future generations.

In order for the Earth to continue to sustain life and for humanity to thrive,
biodiversity must also have room to flourish, as all of our resources come
from nature and the Earth, including food, water, and medicine. A thriving
environment also means a stable climate; access to natural energy sources;
and better overall health, wealth, and security. In turn, biodiversity helps
support the economic sector and contributes to a stable economy. The WWF
estimates that globally, nature’s contributions to our lives totals US$125
trillion annually. However, the overconsumption of natural resources is
degrading nature and creating an unstable environment that will not
support us indefinitely. Humanity’s consumption of the Earth is fast
outpacing the Earth’s biocapacity, and every year, the distance between
these two points grows.

Overconsumption is just one of several ways in which we are negatively

impacting the environment, and contributing to animal species extinction
and biodiversity decimation. Exploitation and land degradation are also
driven by runaway consumption. Exploitation of the land’s resources,
particularly for energy and food, negatively impacts biodiversity. The growth
of fisheries and overfishing have negatively impacted ocean ecosystems
and marine life, causing instability in coastal ecosystems, harming coral
reefs and marine habitats, and causing a decrease in the number of fish and
invertebrate species. Land degradation has also negatively impacted
biodiversity, particularly in the form of habitat loss for a number of animal
species, causing species declines. This includes both land and ocean
habitats, as a result of agriculture, deforestation, logging, mining,
residential or commercial development, and energy production. Land
degradation can also affect agriculture and crop yields, further harming
animal pollinators that we rely on for food production.

Deforestation is another major human impact on the environment. Forests

are among the world’s “richest ecosystems.” Covering up to 30% of the
Earth’s surface area, they are home to 80% of the world’s animal, insect,
and plant species. The Amazon rainforest, often referred to as “the lungs of
the planet,” has been reduced by 20% in the last 50 years.

Pollution as a result of human activity is a well known negative impact on

biodiversity and animal populations. Air and land pollution can affect animal
species’ habitats and environments, making it difficult for them to survive,
or else impact food supplies and reproductive performance, causing those
species to slowly become extinct. However, one of the biggest pollution-
related impacts on biodiversity is pollution in the ocean – specifically, plastic
pollution. Plastic pollution can be found in virtually every part of the ocean
across the globe. It pollutes ocean habitats and kills marine life, as it takes
too long to break down, and even microplastics can be ingested by the fish
we eat. Ocean pollution is also severely harming coral reefs, whose
numbers have been halved in the last 30 years, and chemicals from
sunscreens have also contributed to this decimation.

Lastly, climate change has irrevocably changed animal populations and

biodiversity across the globe, particularly in the last 50 years. Climate
change forces species to adapt to a new climate and can affect migration,
reproduction, and food supply. Additionally, issues such as hunting and
poaching, disease, and the introduction of invasive species into an
environment will also negatively impact species populations.

There is no doubt, therefore, that biodiversity is threatened by human

activities on the planet. Current ongoing extinction rates of various animal
species are between 100 and 1000 percent higher today than they were
before human impact on the environment became an issue. The WWF
surveyed 16,704 vertebrate populations, comprised of 4000 different
species, and discovered an average 60% population decline. However,
certain areas and animal species are more at risk than others. South and
Central America have seen the largest population decline at 89%, and
freshwater vertebrate species have seen population declines of 86% since
1970.

The Living Planet Report is not the only assessment of wildlife populations
and global biodiversity to be published recently. Others have also painted
stark pictures of the effects that humans have had on the world, despite
making up only 0.01% by biomass of all living creatures on Earth. Whales
are dying due to chemical pollution in oceans; mammals are being “eaten
into extinction;” and since the dawn of civilization, humans have been
responsible for the loss of 83% of wild mammals and 50% of plants.

The magnitude of destruction that we have wrought on the Earth, and the
carelessness and flippancy with which we have treated the natural
environment cannot continue indefinitely, nor will it sustain humanity unless
we change our current habits and practices. As a result of our actions, many
scientists believe that we are currently living in the world’s sixth mass
extinction, and unlike the other mass extinctions throughout the Earth’s
history, this one has been caused by a single species – humans. According
to a 2018 study, even if all negative impacts on biodiversity and animal
populations were to cease immediately, it would still take another five to
seven million years for evolution to naturally replace lost animal and plant
species and population numbers.

There is no denying that permanent and sustainable action must be taken

now to ensure that biodiversity on Earth can continue to thrive and support
us, before we cross a tipping point from which we can never return. As the
report states: “We are the first generation that has a clear picture of the
value of nature and our impact on it. We may be the last that can take
action to reverse this trend. From now until 2020 will be a decisive moment
in history.”