{"id":18423,"date":"2016-11-27T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-27T14:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/?p=18423"},"modified":"2019-10-17T16:04:27","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T20:04:27","slug":"why-should-an-urbanist-care-about-biodiversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/2016\/11\/27\/why-should-an-urbanist-care-about-biodiversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Should an Urbanist Care About Biodiversity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face the facts.<\/p>\n

Despite laudable international initiatives for climate change mitigation and environmental preservation\u00a0[i]<\/a>, major changes in Earth\u2019s balances have been set in motion and we\u2019re starting to experience their consequences: heat records; increased droughts; increased wildfire intensity and frequency; melting of landlocked ice; increased sea level and coastal storm damages; ocean acidification; climate change-based migration flows of human and animal\/insect populations, along with pathogens and diseases\u2014without considering the great loss in biodiversity, where one animal or vegetal species disappears every 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Habitat loss is the main cause of biodiversity loss, and a\u00a0main cause of habitat loss is land use change due to urbanization and transport infrastructure<\/strong>.<\/blockquote><\/figure>\n

Indeed, when the debate is focused on \u201cenergy efficiency\u201d and \u201cgreentech\u201d, we\u2019ve almost forgotten one major threat for human survival: the survival of all the other inhabitants of our planet. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature<\/a>, the extinction rate is between 100 and 1,000 times greater than during the 65 million (!) previous years. As a result, 26,000 (known) species disappear each year, and according to the Living Planet Index 2014\u00a0[ii]<\/a>, \u201cpopulation sizes of vertebrate species\u2014mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish\u2014have declined by 52 percent over the last 40 years\u201d; that measure is up to 76 percent for freshwater species. According to the IUCN, the picture isn\u2019t rosy for the near future: 25 percent of mammals, 13 percent of birds, and 41 percent of amphibians will disappear in this timeframe, adding to 37 percent of all known species by 2050.<\/p>\n

\"1a_global_living_planet_index-copie\"
Figure 1.<\/strong> The Global Living Planet Index is based on trends in 10,380 populations of 3,038 vertebrates (mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, and fish species). The white line shows the index values and the shaded areas represent the 95 per cent confidence limits surrounding the trend. Image: WWF, ZSL, 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why should you care, if you\u2019re not an enthusiastic nature conservationist?<\/p>\n

For three reasons at least:<\/p>\n

Firstly, species\u2014from bacteria and viruses to mammals, including humans\u2014are part of the \u201cweb of life\u201d<\/strong>, as Fritjof Capra\u00a0[iii]<\/a> writes it. \u201cThese are the living forms that constitute the fabric of the ecosystems which sustain life on Earth\u201d, says Marco Lambertini, WWF\u2019s International Managing Director.<\/p>\n

See also this<\/a>, on biomimicry as a key path\u00a0forward.<\/blockquote><\/figure>Life is not the simple addition of all 10 million species: it is their intricate relationships, which form the fabric of ecosystems. On a vertical axis, the food chain\u2014where, for example, ocean acidification is depleting plankton populations to the extent that the whole trophic chain, up to large aquatic mammals and fisheries\u2014is endangered. On the food chain\u2019s horizontal levels, the myriad collaborations that take place\u2014starting in the soil, where thousands of species, such as mycelium and bacteria transform rock and digest dead organic matter, including human pollutants, into a rich earth\u2014form a process that, over 700 or so years, creates 1 cm of soil. Yet, that creation can be destroyed in a few hours by deforestation or new built infrastructure.<\/p>\n

On a global level, where all those interactions add to biochemical and geochemical cycles (such as the nitrogen, water, carbon, oxygen, and phosphorus cycles), they have historically maintained the delicate balance of Life. Therefore, biodiversity, from genes, to species, to ecosystems, is paramount to the presence of life on our planet, and to our own survival, notably through all the ecological services it provides\u00a0[iv]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite our great effort to disconnect ourselves from the \u201cweb of life\u201d\u2014to the extent that we are investing billions into inventing artificial life-support systems for space exploration\u2014we, human beings, continue to be inextricably tied to this web of life.<\/p>\n

Secondly, because we human beings are the main threat to biodiversity and our environment, so, therefore, are we our main threat to our own survival. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Indeed, the primary explanation for biodiversity loss, according to the Living Planet Index, is the degradation, fragmentation, or loss of natural habitat (45 percent), followed by the over-exploitation of resources (37 percent) and climate change (7.1 percent only). Habitat loss is identified as a main threat to 85 percent of all species described on the IUCN’s Red List<\/a>. Habitat loss is mostly caused by the expansion of agricultural land; intensive harvesting of timber wood for fuel and other forest products; and overgrazing. \u201cAround half of the world’s original forests have disappeared, and they are still being removed at a rate 10x higher than any possible level of regrowth. As tropical forests contain at least half the Earth’s species, the clearance of some 17 million hectares each year is a dramatic loss\u201d, says the Living Planet Report 2014.<\/p>\n

But the second main cause for habitat loss is land use change due to urbanization and transport infrastructure<\/em>. We\u2019re generating a quantity of artificial soil as big as the area of Greece every year. In the European Union alone, such land use change represents 1,000 km2<\/sup> each year, or 275 hectares per day\u00a0[v]<\/a>, of artificial soil\u2014the equivalent of Central Park in New York City, or the area of Hungary within one century. Alongside urbanization comes air (and also sound and light) pollution, accounting for 4 percent of biodiversity loss.<\/p>\n

The Global Ecological Footprint\u00a0[vi]<\/a>, published each year by the Global Footprint Network, is a very clear and understandable signal measuring our pressure on our planet\u2019s resources and \u201cbiocapacity\u201d: we are using more natural resources than our natural environment can provide, and we would need 1.5 Earths to fulfill our consumption needs (and up to 4 Earths if we all had the living standards of U.S. citizens).<\/p>\n

\"GFN_EOS_infographic_v5\"
Figure 2.<\/strong> Global ecological footprint evolution and Earth Overshoot Day forecasts. Image: Global Footprint Network (2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the phenomenal growth of the world\u2019s population, which has added 2 billion people since 1990 and is expected to add 4 billion more by 2100 (3 billion for Africa alone); with the growing concentration of this population in urban areas (from 30 percent of the global population in 1950 to 66 percent by 2050), especially in Africa; with the rise of new economies; and with developing countries seeking the average standards of living in the West, the pressure on our planet is not going to ease.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 3.<\/strong> Countries by Real GDP Growth Rate (2017). Image: Kami888 – Own work; Used a blank map from here., CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=68753479<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Experts believe we entered the Anthropocene epoch in the mid 20th<\/sup> century, and our planet is paying the price. As the climate experts from the IPCC noted in their 2007 synthetic report: \u201cUnmitigated climate change would, in the long term, be likely to exceed the capacity of natural, managed, and human systems to adapt. (WGII 20.7, SPM). This description does not even name the biodiversity loss and nitrogen cycle threats that are identified by the Stockholm Resilience Center as the major Earth boundary overshoots, out of ten such factors.<\/p>\n

\"4a_planetary_boundaries-stockholm_resilience_center-copie\"
Figure 4.<\/strong>The Planetary Boundaries. Image: Stockholm Resilience Centre (2009)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To put it more directly, we\u2019re heading toward the wall at full speed, still wondering and discussing how we can slow down; we now have to prepare ourselves for damage (crash?) control, as well as resilience (survival?).<\/p>\n

Thus, the third reason we should care about biodiversity is that it might be the solution to our problems. <\/strong>See my next post for details on how using biodiversity could help us achieve sustainability and resilience.<\/p>\n

Olivier Scheffer<\/strong>
\nParis<\/p>\n

On The Nature of Cities<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information on this subject, read:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cEcomimicry: Reconnecting Cities\u2014and Ourselves\u2014to Earth\u2019s Balances”<\/a> on TNOC.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[i]<\/a> the latest being the Paris Agreement at the COP21 \u2013 if ratified by 55 countries representing more than 55% of GHG emissions<\/p>\n

[ii]<\/a> \u201cLiving Planet Report 2014\u201d from the WWF, the Zoological Society of London, The Global Footprint Network, The Water Footprint network http:\/\/www.worldwildlife.org\/publications\/living-planet-report-2014<\/a><\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> http:\/\/www.fritjofcapra.net\/books\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[iv]<\/a> The United Nations Environment Programme made this very clear more than 10 years ago in its Millennium Assessment programme : supporting services (nutrient recycling, primary production, and soil formation), provisioning services (food, raw materials, minerals, water, energy, genetic, and medicinal resources), regulating services (climate regulation; carbon sequestration; waste decomposition and detoxification; purification of water and air; pest and disease control), and cultural services (recreational, therapeutic, educative, historical, spiritual).<\/p>\n

[v]<\/a> \u00ab\u00a0Lignes directrices concernant les meilleures pratiques pour limiter, att\u00e9nuer ou compenser l\u2019imperm\u00e9abilisation des sols\u00a0\u00bb, Services de la Commission Europ\u00e9enne (2012)
\nhttp:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/environment\/soil\/pdf\/guidelines\/pub\/soil_fr.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> http:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/en\/index.php\/GFN\/page\/world_footprint\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s face the facts. Despite laudable international initiatives for climate change mitigation and environmental preservation\u00a0[i], major changes in Earth\u2019s balances have been set in motion and we\u2019re starting to experience their consequences: heat records; increased droughts; increased wildfire intensity and frequency; melting of landlocked ice; increased sea level and coastal storm damages; ocean acidification; climate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":573,"featured_media":18427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,938,299,297],"tags":[401,104,84,33,90],"coauthors":[798],"class_list":["post-18423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essay","category-europe","category-essay-place-and-design","category-essay-science-and-tools","tag-biodiversity","tag-climate-change","tag-livability","tag-resilience","tag-sustainability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/573"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18423"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thenatureofcities.com\/TNOC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=18423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}