{"id":3009,"date":"2019-05-10T15:07:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T14:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T10:17:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:17:36","slug":"one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"One million species face extinction unless we address population growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull is-light curved-bottom\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#958a87\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1198\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-scaled.jpg\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-post-image\" alt=\"African Elephant banner\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-1024x479.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-768x359.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-1536x719.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-2048x958.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\"><h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-title\">One million species face extinction unless we address population growth<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2019-05-10T15:07:19+01:00\">10 May 2019<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"lead\">A major new UN report on the state of the world\u2019s biodiversity grabbed headlines this week with its alarming message that nature is being destroyed faster than ever before. Three-quarters of all land environments and two-thirds of all marine environments have been severely damaged by humans over the past five decades, leading to one million species now threatened with extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/ghost-presenter-738063-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"Chimpanzee\" class=\"wp-image-4087\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Drivers of biodiversity loss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipbes.net\/news\/ipbes-global-assessment-summary-policymakers-pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Global Assessment Summary for Policy-makers<\/em><\/a>, published on Monday by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), urges \u201ctransformative\u201d changes to tackle both \u201cdirect\u201d and \u201cindirect\u201d drivers of biodiversity loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct drivers \u2013 in descending order of severity \u2013 include habitat destruction, overexploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Indirect drivers are the factors fuelling the direct drivers and include human population growth, consumption patterns, technological innovation and governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Importantly, the report notes that <em>\u201cIn the past 50 years, the human population has doubled, the global economy has grown nearly 4-fold and global trade has grown 10-fold,\u201d <\/em>and that <em>\u201cchanges to the direct drivers of nature deterioration cannot be achieved without transformative change that simultaneously addresses the indirect drivers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, <strong>we must address human population growth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More feet,&nbsp;bigger&nbsp;footprints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to WWF\u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwf.org.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/2018-10\/LPR2018_Full%20Report.pdf\">Living Planet Report<\/a><\/em>, habitat destruction and overexploitation are by far the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss, accounting for at least two-thirds of all threats recorded for wildlife populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agriculture is the main cause of habitat destruction, with more than a third of the world\u2019s land surface and nearly three-quarters of freshwater resources devoted to crop or livestock production. Another key cause is conversion of land for human habitation, with urban areas doubling since 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overexploitation of species includes fishing, hunting and logging for timber. Marine species are especially hard-hit, with a third of global fish stocks being harvested faster than they can regenerate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Nature is changing in part because there&#8217;s more of us and we are consuming more. As people become more affluent they have bigger footprints, they eat more, they drive more and they fly more.<\/p>\n<cite><strong>Co-author Dr Kate Brauman<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Decreasing poverty is undoubtedly a positive development. The only real solutions are a radical shift away from&nbsp;unsustainable consumption&nbsp;in wealthy countries as well as ending, and ultimately reversing human population growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/tractors_joao-marcelo-marques-791496-unsplash_0.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4088\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The report highlights that \u2018business as usual\u2019 has resulted in a failure to meet most of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets as well as the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and the erosion of life on Earth is expected to get even worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>World population will grow to 11 billion by the end of the century if no actions are taken to ensure everyone is able to access reproductive healthcare and exercise their rights. Only a complete deviation from current economic and population growth trajectories will save our planet\u2019s life-support system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>IPBES Chair Bob Watson told <em>The Times<\/em> that limiting population growth was <em>\u201cdefinitely good for the environment\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The way you do it is through the education and empowerment of women. Slower population growth is much more consistent with a sustainable future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<cite><strong>Bob Watson, Chair, IPBES<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the summary for policy-makers sadly fails to include these much-needed solutions in its recommendations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cFailure to advocate for the positive and ethical solutions which reduce population growth, improve people\u2019s lives and protect biodiversity is simply negligent,&#8221; <\/em>said population Matters Director Robin Maynard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Negotiations are currently taking place to set new targets and priorities under the principal international agreement for the protection of biodiversity, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Population Matters is calling for the so-called \u201cpost-2020 framework\u201d to address human population and encourage globally beneficial measures to address population size. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-light-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Jane Goodall on Population and Conservation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jane Goodall @ Population Matters Conference 2019\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2t8DLzLqj5Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Population Matters Patron Jane Goodall says &#8220;We can&#8217;t push population growth under the carpet.&#8221; Population Matters hosted a conference in London on&nbsp;27 April 2019 addressing the relationship between human population and the Sixth Mass Extinction.\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-share\"><a class=\"fb-share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F05%2Fone-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div> Share<\/div><\/a><a class=\"tw-share\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F05%2Fone-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth%2F&amp;text=One%20million%20species%20face%20extinction%20unless%20we%20address%20population%20growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div> Tweet<\/div><\/a><a class=\"li-share\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpopulationmatters.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F05%2Fone-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth%2F&amp;text=One%20million%20species%20face%20extinction%20unless%20we%20address%20population%20growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div> Post<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-light-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-grid grid grid-3\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-post-teaser\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/biodiversity\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>Biodiversity<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/jenna-lee-122713-unsplash_crop-768x413.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/jenna-lee-122713-unsplash_crop-768x413.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/jenna-lee-122713-unsplash_crop-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/jenna-lee-122713-unsplash_crop-1024x551.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/jenna-lee-122713-unsplash_crop-1536x826.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/jenna-lee-122713-unsplash_crop-2048x1101.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/img>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Nature is under pressure as never before. One million species are under the threat of extinction. Our human population is one of the drivers of the biodiversity crisis. Learn more. <\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-post-teaser\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/solutions\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>Solutions<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/thomas-young-634092-unsplash_crop-768x288.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-1006\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/thomas-young-634092-unsplash_crop-768x288.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/thomas-young-634092-unsplash_crop-300x113.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/thomas-young-634092-unsplash_crop-1024x384.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/thomas-young-634092-unsplash_crop-1536x576.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/thomas-young-634092-unsplash_crop.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/img>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Ending population growth can be achieved through positive, empowering, choice-based actions which improve people&#8217;s lives and bring multiple other benefits.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-popmat-post-teaser\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2020\/05\/population-matters-demands-action-on-biodiversity\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>Population Matters demands action on biodiversity<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"359\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-768x359.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-2316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-768x359.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-1024x479.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-1536x719.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-2048x958.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/img>\n\t\t\t\t<p>To mark the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22nd, Population Matters is writing to governments across the world to demand action on&nbsp;human population. Our message is simple: continued&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major new UN report on the state of the world\u2019s biodiversity grabbed headlines this week with its alarming message that nature is being destroyed faster than ever before. Three-quarters&#8230;","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[10,14,22],"class_list":["post-3009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-story","tag-biodiversity","tag-environment","tag-world_population"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>One million species face extinction unless we address population growth - Population Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One million species face extinction unless we address population growth - Population Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A major new UN report on the state of the world\u2019s biodiversity grabbed headlines this week with its alarming message that nature is being destroyed faster than ever before. Three-quarters...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Population Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PopulationMatters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-10T14:07:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-22T09:17:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1198\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alistair Currie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PopnMatters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PopnMatters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alistair Currie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alistair Currie\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9aab1f48e7f8e28a9f2a0aaa31dd6f98\"},\"headline\":\"One million species face extinction unless we address population growth\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-10T14:07:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-22T09:17:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\"},\"wordCount\":674,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/elephant_aj-robbie-603161-unsplash_0-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Biodiversity\",\"Environment\",\"World population\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News story\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\",\"name\":\"One million species face extinction unless we address population growth - 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