Address the biodiversity crisis or die

The recent David Attenborough programme, Extinction -the facts, should have set alarm bells running across the world, not least because of the links made to the Covid -19 virus. Attenborough told how one million plant and animal species face extinction - one in eight of all species. Some 500,000 plants and animals and the same number of insects face extinction. The loss of habitats is the largest driver of biodiversity destruction. Some 90% of wetlands have been lost. Each year, 3.8 million hectares of forest are cleared. The demand for coffee, soy, cocoa, palm oil and beef that are the greatest drivers of biodiversity loss. It is the behaviour of one species driving this destruction - the human being. The consumption rates of human beings continue to grow, with the average UK citizen consuming four times more than an Indian citizen.The gap grows to a factor of seven, comparing a US citizen. Attenborough highlighted how humans increasingly destructive relationship with nature is making pandemics more likely. Some 31% of all emerging diseases come from land encroachment. Predators are destroyed, allowing disease spreaders like rats and mice to proliferate. There is ever closer link with animals carrying viruses. The Covid--19 virus has been linked to bats in south China, with transmission believed to have come originally from a Wuhun market. If human beings continue in this destructive way,destroying the planet on which we all depend to survive the future looks bleak. There are five new diseases every year effecting people. If pandemics of the Covid type become more commonplace, then the world economic system becomes unsustainable. The warning from David Attenborough was stark - the very future of humanity is at stake if we continue on the present destructive path. Governments have to take the environmental issues like biodiversity loss and climate change off the back burner and give them priority. The linkage of biodiversity destruction with pandemics like Covid should provide the motivation needed to act decisively. Responsible leaders will do so, irresponsible ones will no doubt deny the evidence and continue as before. This cannot be allowed to happen. People must vote in leaders who will act for the common good and save our planet. We must act at local level, cutting waste (particularly food), reducing meat and dairy consumption and educating everyone about environment and nature. At local level, we need to rejoin with nature, stop concreting over green spaces and expand wild areas. The pandemic is a double edged sword - it offers a space, a chance to reassess and change but also a stark warning as to what will happen if we continue on the present disasterous path.