Insect biomass has declined by 76 percent over the past thirty years. 41 percent of all amphibian species and almost a third of all mammal species are also threatened. Evolutionary biologists speak of the sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history. The human being is to blame. The 15th United Nations World Conference on Nature is currently taking place in Canada. There is a fight about whether 30 percent of the land area and the oceans will be protected areas by 2030. A vital decision, says Hans Pörtner. The expert on biodiversity is a member of the German government’s scientific advisory board and was, among other things, jointly responsible for the special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Global Warming.
“Humans are in the process of invading the last habitats,” says the biologist. And I received the corona pandemic as a price for this behavior, for example. Climate change leads to stressful situations for animals and plants, because if the living conditions change at their previous location, they would have to migrate after their “temperature window”, says Pörtner. This leads to species mixing and stress. The result: a “declining population”. If a species goes extinct, this also has consequences for the animals that have fed on this extinct species. Humans are also affected by this. Pörtner: “We are walking through a valley with a view of the natural living conditions.”
The diversity of species is an indication of a healthy earth, so to speak “the canary in the coal mine”, which used to be an early warning system that chirped to the miners to indicate whether there was still enough oxygen in the tunnel. “There is certainly still hope.” Even if goals are not met, that’s no reason to sit back and relax, says Pörtner. But: “We must do everything we can to protect our living conditions on earth from climate change.” And to protect against species loss. “It’s not possible to continue as before”, that is “an existential question”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wissen/.”There is no alternative to the path to a sustainable future.”
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