We know that the human being causes more and more impacts on the environment and, with it, on the flora and fauna of the planet. As we urbanize all natural ecosystems and pollute the waters, soils and air, species are dying more and more and their populations are declining.
And it is that the number of animal and plant species that are with some degree of threat has reached its new record in 2017. Do you want to know the situation of the planet's biodiversity?
Record in threatened species
This record of threatened species, the result of a greater environmental impact than ever, affects 30% of all species examined for the annual preparation of the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The list that IUCN generates each year contains 25.800 species analyzed among which are pangolins, koalas, seahorses and flying insects. These species have been the most affected during 2017 by human impacts. All these data are reflected in a balance at the end of the year.
The year 2016 closed the list of threatened species with about 24.000 species, which indicates that 1.800 more species have come to be in some degree of threat.
This extinction of species we can come to think that it will not affect us directly. However, there are many threatened species that will affect us, such as bees and other insects that will gradually disappear from our fields.
Pollinating insects
Pollinating insects are vital for fruit and vegetable crops, since many plants have the dissemination of their seeds by means of an animal as a dispersal method.
The insects that pollinate could become scarce in a few years throughout Europe due to the massive use of pesticides in agriculture. To see a clearer example, in Germany the flying insects have decreased by 75% in just 27 years.
Therefore, the increase in good agricultural practices and ecological agriculture can help in the realization of a good use of pesticides, a responsibility not only of the agricultural sector, but also of the cities and individuals that use pesticides without considering the impact that can come to bear in nature.
Pangolins
Pangolins are a species especially affected during this year, especially by smugglers. Since last January its international trade has been totally prohibited, but it seems that it is of no use, since it is a species that has been decimated during this 2017.
This mammal is hunted by poachers since it is the only one that has a skin covered with large scales. Both their skins and live animals continue to be confiscated in Africa and Asia and the IUCN estimates 1,1 million live specimens seized in the last 16 years on both continents.
This is worse when you mention elephants in the forests of Africa, since their numbers have been reduced by 66%, to the with less than 10.000 individuals. This dramatic situation is caused by the illegal trafficking of their tusks.
Seahorses
At sea we are not saved either; the seahorse population has decreased by 30% in European waters over the last decade.
Both its fishing and its trade are prohibited in the Mediterranean. But this does not prevent them from being accidentally caught in fishermen's nets. This is in addition to the impact it has on the excessive use of fertilizers, climate change and trawling, all factors that reduce the population.
The situation of the koalas is also dire, with 80% of its population having disappeared from certain regions of Australia since the nineties, among other causes due to the destruction of entire eucalyptus forests that constitute their natural habitat.
As you can see, the human being is destroying all the animal and plant species in the world.