{"id":3060,"date":"2020-06-09T16:28:51","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T15:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2020\/06\/human-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating\/"},"modified":"2024-05-08T12:56:46","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T11:56:46","slug":"human-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2020\/06\/human-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating\/","title":{"rendered":"Human-caused mass extinction still accelerating"},"content":{"rendered":"<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\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/parrot-banner.jpg\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-post-image\" alt=\"Parrot banner\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/parrot-banner.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/parrot-banner-300x113.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/parrot-banner-1024x384.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/parrot-banner-768x288.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/parrot-banner-1536x576.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><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\">Human-caused mass extinction still accelerating<\/h1><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2020-06-09T16:28:51+01:00\">9 June 2020<\/time><\/div>\n<p class=\"lead\">A new analysis shows the sixth mass extinction is accelerating, with more than 500 vertebrate species at risk of becoming extinct in less than 20 years \u2013 as many as were lost over the entire course of the last century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1703\" src=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit.jpg\" alt=\"Sumatran rhino\" class=\"wp-image-4257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit.jpg 2500w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit-1024x698.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit-768x523.jpg 768w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit-1536x1046.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Sumatran_rhinoceros_four_days_old_IRF_CC-BY-2.0_dont-use-without-credit-2048x1395.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/early\/2020\/05\/27\/1922686117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> published in <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)<\/em> by a group of scientists including Population Matters <a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/our-patrons\">Patron<\/a> Paul Ehrlich found that out of almost 30,000 species of land-dwelling vertebrates, 515 already have fewer than 1,000 individuals left. More than half of these species have been reduced to 250 or fewer individuals, mostly mammals and amphibians. The species on the brink include the Sumatran rhino, the Clarion island wren, the Epa\u00f1ola giant tortoise and the Harlequin frog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There have already been five mass extinction episodes over the last 450 million years \u2013 each of these were caused by catastrophic environmental changes such as massive volcanic eruptions, depletion of oceanic oxygen, or an asteroid strike. The <a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/welcome-to-the-anthropocene\/\">sixth mass extinction<\/a> we are in now is due to human activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because humanity depends on the ecosystem services provided by <a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/biodiversity\/\">biodiversity<\/a>, the scientists warn that its destruction could cause the collapse of civilisation if nothing is done to reverse the trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>When humanity exterminates populations and species of other creatures, it is sawing off the limb on which it is sitting, destroying working parts of our own life-support system.<\/p>\n<cite><strong>Professor Paul Ehrlich<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The authors point out that the human population exploded from 1 million people at the dawn of agriculture 11,000 years ago to 7.7 billion and growing today, making it increasingly difficult for other species to thrive. The&nbsp;extinction crisis will continue to worsen under our current population and consumption trajectories. They also highlight that &#8220;extinction breeds extinction&#8221;, meaning that due to the interdependency of species within ecosystems, losing one often has cascading detrimental effects on the others.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the close to 400 study species with populations of under 5,000, almost all were found to live in the same areas as those which number less than 1,000 \u2013 mostly \u201cheavily populated\u201d areas such as tropical Asia which could soon undergo regional biodiversity collapse. The extinction crisis and its impacts are more immediate than the climate crisis, according to the scientists, but much less known by governments and the general public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fevo.2020.00128\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a> on the decline of hoofed mammals published in <em>Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution<\/em> this month also warns of an irreversible tipping point and concludes that the ultimate cause of species decline is \u201cunabating human population growth\u201d. The scientific evidence for the increase in human numbers being a leading cause of biodiversity loss is overwhelming. Last year, a key UN report found that <a href=\"https:\/\/populationmatters.org\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\">one million species<\/a> are now threatened with extinction and explicitly identified human population growth as a driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the <em>PNAS<\/em> paper concludes, the time for urgent action is now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The window of opportunity is almost closed. We must save what we can, or lose the opportunity to do so forever. [\u2026 ] What is at stake is the fate of humanity and most living species. Future generations deserve better from us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-blue-background-color has-background alignfull is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Take action for biodiversity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/cbd-action\">Take action<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Call on your government to include population solutions in international conservation efforts.<\/p>\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%2F2020%2F06%2Fhuman-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating%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%2F2020%2F06%2Fhuman-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating%2F&amp;text=Human-caused%20mass%20extinction%20still%20accelerating\" 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%2F2020%2F06%2Fhuman-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating%2F&amp;text=Human-caused%20mass%20extinction%20still%20accelerating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><div> Post<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-light-blue-background-color has-background alignfull 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\/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\n\n\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\/news\/2019\/05\/one-million-species-face-extinction-unless-we-address-population-growth\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3>One million species face extinction unless we address population growth<\/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>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;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new analysis shows the sixth mass extinction is accelerating, with more than 500 vertebrate species at risk of becoming extinct in less than 20 years \u2013 as many as&#8230;","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[8,9,10,14,22],"class_list":["post-3060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-story","tag-africa-population","tag-asia_population","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>Human-caused mass extinction still accelerating - 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\/2020\/06\/human-caused-mass-extinction-still-accelerating\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Human-caused mass extinction still accelerating - 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