Extinction crisis on its way, according to new global report

A major new report is warning that human activity could lead to the extinction of 1 million species. The Global Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which will be published later this month, warns that our food, water, energy sources and way of life face serious challenges if we do not change the way we use nature. The report brings together work from 150 leading global experts from 50 countries, and also builds on previous contributions from scientists supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE).

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), who commissioned the report, describes it as a definitive new global synthesis of the state of nature, ecosystems and nature’s contributions to people. Two previous IPBES report series, the Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment and the Regional Assessment Reports for Africa, the Americas…