Welcome to this first edition of 4Revs Intelligence, which brings monthly updates on sustainability science and global policy. Here you will get summaries of new scientific findings relevant to corporate sustainability strategies and reports on major international meetings and agreements, allowing you to quickly grasp the main points of those event.
The United Nations has declared 2020 the Super Year for Nature and is also launching a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration this year. A number of high-level events are planned, including a Nature Summit with heads of state in New York and a meeting of the Biodiversity Convention in Kunming, where governments will agree on a new strategic plan for the next ten years. What is the background to this strong focus on nature and ecosystems, and what does it mean in practice?
In recent years, an increasing amount of scientific evidence shows how we humans are shrinking the space available for other species and damaging the web of life. We are also gaining more knowledge on how these changes threaten human health and wellbeing. According to best available estimates, our planet is now losing species at least 1,000 times faster than at any time before in human history.
Humans have come to dominate the planet to an extent that few people are aware of. Ecologists estimate that of the total weight of all mammals on Earth, human beings account for around one third. The combined weight of humans and our domesticated animals and pets account for an astonishing 98.5 percent of the total weight of mammals, meaning that wild mammals only account for 1.5 percent .
Similarly, researchers who study human land use have found that more than 77 percent of the Earth’s land (not including Antarctica) and 87 percent of the oceans are directly affected by human activities. In other words, only around 23 percent of the planet’s land surface can now be considered wilderness.
The threats to large mammals and birds, such as the Giant Panda and the Crested Ibis (Toki), have been known for a long time. However, the loss of large animals that can easily be observed and counted is only the tip of the iceberg. Researchers are now also documenting a sharp decline in smaller and less visible species, including insects and microorganisms. Studies in Europe show that the abundance of flying insects has dropped by 50–75 percent over the last thirty years. A recent review of the scientific literature concludes that 40 percent of the world’s insect species could be lost 6 over the next few decades .
Many of the species that are now disappearing have not been documented by science and there is little knowledge on their functions. Around 1.5 million individual species are currently described in the scientific literature but researchers agree that the actual number of unique life-forms is much higher . Loss of biodiversity is not just a matter of individual species going extinct but about increasing risks that vital ecosystem functions are lost. For every species that disappears, the web of life on Earth gets weaker and more fragile.
We know that many insects and microorganisms play important roles and are of great value to humans. For example, such organisms help decompose dead wood and other kinds of biomass, which is essential for recycling plant nutrients and for maintaining healthy soils. When soil quality degrades, it becomes less fertile and dries up quicker, and plants can more easily be harmed by pests. Degraded soils also store less carbon, meaning that declining soil quality can make climate change worse.
Similarly, more than 75 percent of global food crop types, including coffee, cocoa and almonds, as well as many kinds of fruits and vegetables, need animal pollination — often provided by insects . If those insects decrease in numbers or disappear completely, this would have serious consequences for society’s food supply.
The four revolutions highlighted in the 4Revs initiative — in food and agriculture, freshwater use, materials, and energy and climate — are necessary for turning around these dangerous trends and for bringing humanity back to a more harmonious co-existence with the rest of the planet. In future editions of this monthly briefing we will look in more detail at each of the four revolutions — what recent science tells us about critical trends, what the main drivers are, and how ecological impacts are hurting our society. Later this year, we will also review the outcomes of the global meetings mentioned above and discuss their implications for businesses.
4Revs Intelligence Feature Article
