国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

World / Kaleidoscope

Report: Biodiversity declining

By Wu Wencong (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2012-05-15 19:42

A report released by the World Wide Fund for Nature on May 15 said biodiversity declined globally by 28 percent between 1970 and 2008, and it fell as much as 61 percent in the tropics.

Produced in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network, the WWF 2012 Living Planet Report tracked trends of more than 9,000 populations of almost 3,000 vertebrate species to measure the health of the planet’s ecosystems.

The report blames the drop in biodiversity in the past 40 years on the over-exploitation of natural resources by human activities and calls on world leaders to commit to a sustainable future at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, which is to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June.

"We are living as if we have an extra planet at our disposal. We are using 50 percent more resources than the Earth can provide," said Jim Leape, director-general of WWF International.

Materials extraction overall is up 41 percent over the past two decades. World plastics production has more than doubled since 1992, about half of it for disposable purposes, such as packaging, according to the report.

The worldwide drive to build new infrastructure has led to skyrocketing demand for concrete, the production of which has risen by 230 percent in the past 20 years, according to the report.

"The core problem is that the current resources we have and our production efficiency cannot meet the requirements of growing consumer demand, especially from high-income countries," said Li Lin, deputy country representative of WWF China.

The Living Planet Report found that countries with a higher per capita income consume five times more natural resources than low-income countries, which have much smaller populations. Still, the report showed a 7 percent increase in the biodiversity of high-income countries.

Li said this is likely to be due to a combination of factors. For one, these nations are able to purchase resources from lower-income countries, thereby simultaneously degrading biodiversity in those countries while maintaining their own.

The 31 percent decline of biodiversity in middle-income countries and the 60 percent decline in low-income countries can also be explained in this manner.

Given current trends, such as the deepening of the human footprint and the rapid consumption of natural resources, humanity will require two planets worth of resources by 2030 and about three by 2050, the report said.

Launched just five weeks before conference in Rio, the report reveals the fund’s high expectations for the summit.

"Rio+20 (The UN conference) can and must be the moment for governments to set a new course toward sustainability," Leape said.

Li Lin from WWF China also looks forward to the summit, "We are seeking commitments from top leaders at Rio+20, not treaties."

Trudeau visits Sina Weibo
May gets little gasp as EU extends deadline for sufficient progress in Brexit talks
Ethiopian FM urges strengthened Ethiopia-China ties
Yemen's ex-president Saleh, relatives killed by Houthis
Most Popular
Hot Topics

...
沅江市| 长宁县| 海原县| 壶关县| 抚顺县| 通州区| 麟游县| 垫江县| 韶关市| 吉安县| 台安县| 皮山县| 玉林市| 乳山市| 宣化县| 那曲县| 高唐县| 兰坪| 亚东县| 饶平县| 阿巴嘎旗| 宁夏| 漯河市| 秦皇岛市| 安多县| 本溪市| 富顺县| 准格尔旗| 威信县| 怀宁县| 普安县| 珲春市| 米泉市| 弋阳县| 澎湖县| 额尔古纳市| 龙井市| 永城市| 陕西省| 黄骅市| 苏尼特左旗|