According to a report by the UN Committee, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), one million of the planet’s eight million species are threatened with extinction by humans.

And it is predicted that they will be pushed to extinction within a few decades.

The report states that the global rate of species extinction is already tens to hundreds of times higher than it has been, on average, over the last 10 million years. 

More than 40% of amphibians, almost 33% of reef-forming corals and more than one-third of all marine mammals are threatened due to shrinking habitat, climate change and pollution.

Humans have caused some irreversible damage to the planet through their actions, altering around 75% of the earth’s land and 66% of the marine ecosystems.

The report once again emphasizes the impact of population growth on the deteriorating condition of earth.

Data suggests that human population has more than doubled in the last 50 years putting huge pressure on land and water. 

While the report paints a bleak picture of our planet, it also gives us hope that it’s not too late. 

“It is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global. Through ‘transformative change’, nature can still be conserved, restored and used sustainably.”

I’m sure we aren’t ready for the consequences, so it’s better to mend our ways now.