The earth's nature is being ravaged by population growth
Man's rapid expansion leads to environmental destruction,
starvation and despoiled biodiversity. Population
growth needs to be slowed as soon as possible for sustainability, write professors Malte Andersson and Frank Götmark
In 1800, the world's population was 1 billion. Last autumn we exceeded 8 billion and are now growing by
around 80 million per year. At the same time, species and ecosystems are declining
and disappearing through our overexploitation: more than one in four of the
150,000 reviewed species is threatened, of which one in two is a vascular plant. Among 71,000 animal species studied, almost half are decreasing,
only 3 percent are increasing. And it goes fast. Since 1970, populations of mammals, birds, amphibians,
reptiles and fish have declined by an average of approximately 70 percent. The reasons are many. Overexploitation in forestry, hunting and fishing. Agriculture and livestock farming over increasing areas. Infrastructure and buildings such as housing, industries,
roads and mines. Our spread of invasive organisms.
Species usually decline because we take over and wipe out their
habitats – natural ecosystems and environments to which species have long
adapted through evolution. Habitat destruction is the main reason why animal
populations disappear. This happens mainly in the tropics, but also in
Plants and animals are decreasing in pace with
increased population density and consumption, as the ecologist Trevor Beebee
shows in his current book "Impacts of Human Population on Wildlife"
(2023).
Another threat to biological diversity is
climate change, where the two main driving forces are increasing population and
consumption, according to the IPCC's major report 2022. The rich world's high
consumption of course needs to be reduced, which is often highlighted in the
environmental debate (see for example wwf.se, Sustainable consumption).
On the other hand, the
extremely destructive consequences of population growth for biological diversity
and sustainability are rarely or never discussed, whether by media such as Radio
or TV, by politicians, the UN or the environmental movement (for example WWF
and the Nature Conservation Association).
Has the topic become taboo? In 2017, thousands of international researchers pointed
out in "Scientists' Warning" the need to stabilize our population. In his solid overview, Beebee (2023) shows that
"overpopulation is at least as much a rich as a poor country problem". Efforts are required from all countries. A new report shows that we wiped out most of the Earth's large
land mammals, reducing them to a tiny fraction of the wealth before our
increase accelerated (through fossil fuels, medical advances, better food and
longer lives). In biomass, we now completely dominate among Earth's
remaining land mammals.
Is our massive expansion, to the detriment of
other species, ethically reasonable? We (humans) make up 390 million tonnes. Our domesticated mammals – cows, pigs, sheep and
companion animals such as horses, dogs and more – 630 million tonnes. A total of just over a billion tons, fifty times more
than all the world's remaining wild land mammals, which we reduced to a mere 20
million tons!
A few thousand years ago, before we became farmers, the
proportions were more than reversed. We were only a few million people, less than a thousandth
of today's population, and had no livestock. In parts of Western Asia and especially in
The earth's nature is being ravaged by population growth
Population
growth is about to lead to disaster for both
But independent researchers point out that an
ecologically sustainable population is rather around 2-3 billion than the 10.4
we are heading towards according to the UN. If everyone is to reach the European standard of living,
a sustainable human world population probably cannot exceed approximately 3
billion. Even less if the conditions of other species are to be
improved.
The UN Conference on Biodiversity, Cop15, proposed last year the protection
of 30 percent of the planet's biodiversity, and the recent UN Conference in
Overall, there is strong evidence for the importance of assistance to
family planning and women's empowerment and education. The right to education in family planning was emphasized by the
UN as early as 1968. When governments now reconsiders, it can learn from
previous mistakes and provide much-needed support for family planning programs.
Especially new programs that also take the environment
and nature into account, and increase the possibility of preserving the earth's
biological diversity.
Malte Andersson ecologist, professor emeritus,
Also check: https://axiom1b.blogspot.com/2023/05/overpopulation-and-future-of-mankind.html
