|
Half of the forests that originally covered 46%
of the Earth's land surface are gone. Only one-fifth of the Earth's
original forests remain pristine and undisturbed.
Between 10 and 20 percent of all species will
be driven to extinction in the next 20 to 50 years. Based on current
trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species - including
one in eight of the world's bird species - face extinction. Almost
a quarter of the world's mammal species will face extinction within
30 years. Up to 47% of the world's plant species are at risk of extinction.
60% of the world's coral reefs, which contain
up to one-fourth of all marine species, could be lost in the next 20-40
years
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and marine
mammals are entangled and drowned by irresponsible fishing practices
every year.
More than 20 percent of the world's known 10,000
freshwater fish species have become extinct, been threatened, or endangered
in recent decades. Sixty percent of the world's important fish stocks
are threatened from overfishing.
Desertification and land degradation threaten
nearly one-quarter of the land surface of the globe. Over 250 million
people are directly affected by desertification, and one billion people
are at risk.
Global warming is expected to increase the Earth's
temperature by 3C (5.4F) in the next 100 years, resulting in multiple
adverse effects on the environment and human society, including widespread
species loss, ecosystem damage, flooding of populated human settlements,
and increased natural disasters.
An estimated 40-80 million people have been forcibly
evicted and displaced from their lands to make way for the construction
of large dams, resulting in economic and social devastation for these
people.
back
to World Revolution home
|
