Researchers Investigate the Connection Between the Diminishment of Biodiversity and the Weakening of Global Economic Development

Yellow banded dart frog. Amphibians are facing some of the worst threats to their biodiversity. A report in the journal Science highlights how biodiversity loss is weakening efforts to tackle global poverty.

PHYSORG.COM writes: "Biodiversity loss is undermining global development, leading scientists warn. The paper brings together a broad group of scientists and policy makers, including Natural History Museum plant expert Dr Sandra Knapp."

Global economic development is being threatened by the sustained loss of biodiversity according to a group of respected scientists: Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jonathan E. M. Baillie, William J. Sutherland, Paul R. Armsworth, Neville Ash, John Beddington, Tim M. Blackburn, Ben Collen, Barry Gardiner, Kevin J. Gaston, H. Charles J. Godfray, Rhys E. Green, Paul H. Harvey, Brett House, Sandra Knapp, Noëlle F. Kümpel, David W. Macdonald, Georgina M. Mace, James Mallet, Adam Matthews, Robert M. May, Owen Petchey, Andy Purvis, Dilys Roe, Kamran Safi, Kerry Turner Matt Walpole, Robert Watson, Kate E. Jones who published an article, "Biodiversity Conservation and the Millennium Development Goals," to publish their findings in the September 18, 2009 issue of Science.

The summary that appears in Science condenses the main thrust of the collaborative article: "The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are designed to inspire efforts to improve people's lives by, among other priorities, halving extreme poverty by 2015 (1). Analogously, concern about global decline in biodiversity and degradation of ecosystem services (2) gave rise in 1992 to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CBD target "to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss" was incorporated into the MDGs in 2002. Our lack of progress toward the 2010 target (3, 4) could undermine achievement of the MDGs and poverty reduction in the long term. With increasing global challenges, such as population growth, climate change, and overconsumption of ecosystem services, we need further integration of the poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation agendas."

The main thrust of the article argues that "Biodiversity loss is undermining global development."

The authors of the article explain that: "Goals set to alleviate extreme poverty will not be met unless we address the accelerating rate of biodiversity loss,.., and new achievable targets are needed urgently."

The authors of the study contend that: "Poverty and environmental degradation have many of the same fundamental causes, such as the pressures of unsustainable human population growth."

The group of authors are in accord that: "More research is needed into the links between biodiversity and poverty, the team says, so that better decisions can be made about how the environment is used in future. The outcomes should benefit both poverty alleviation and conservation."

‘Degradation of the natural diversity of our planet will inevitably bring problems for our own species,’ says Dr Sandra Knapp.

Dr Knapp explains, ‘The integration of conservation and development goals will be difficult, and will require new interactions between scientific communities and with the public at large’.

‘We hope the newly opened Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum can be a focal point for discussion of issues that confront all of us as we integrate the Millennium Development Goals with our concern for the natural world,’ Dr Knapp concluded.

PHYSORG.COM explains that: "The 8 Millennium Development Goals were agreed by all the world’s countries and one of the goals is to halve extreme poverty by 2015. The Convention on Biological Diversity, signed by 150 governments at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. However, the goals of both of these will not be met unless humans begin living in a more sustainable way."

Dr Kate Jones, Senior Research Fellow at ZSL concludes: ‘The global issues are now so intense we will only succeed if we have an integrated environment and development agenda - our children’s environment is an essential part of their welfare.’

Provided by American Museum of Natural History (news : web)

Global development and biodiversity