Nature is in a state of emergency, and it’s only getting worse. More than 1 million species are on the verge of extinction as they disappear at a rate not seen in 10 million years.
According to scientists, humans are driving the extinction crisis by destroying animal habitats, polluting the environment, and contributing to global warming. A new global agreement to protect nature reached on December 19 has the potential to help, and scientists are urging world leaders to ensure the agreement’s success.
When an animal species is extinct, a whole set of characteristics dies with it: genes, behaviours, activities, and interactions with other plants and animals that may have evolved over thousands, millions, or even billions of years.
Whatever role that species played within an ecosystem, such as pollinating specific plants, churning nutrients in soil, fertilising forests, or keeping other animal populations in check, is also lost. If that function was critical to an ecosystem’s health, the animals’ disappearance can cause a landscape to change.
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