Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and

Ecosystem Services
The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is a report released on 6 May 2019 by the United Nations'
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, on the global state of biodiversity. The report
found that, due to human impact on the environment in the past half-century, the Earth's biodiversity has suffered a catastrophic
decline unprecedented in human history.[1] An estimated 82 percent of wild mammal biomass has been lost, while 40 percent of
amphibians, almost a third of reef-building corals, more than a third of marine mammals, and 10 percent of all insects are threatened
with extinction.

Contents
Background
Objective and scope
Overview
Conclusions
See also
References
External links

Background
In 2010 a resolution by the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly urged the United Nations Environment Programme
to convene a plenary meeting to establish an Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).[2][3] In
.[3]
2013 an initial conceptual framework was adopted for the prospective IPBES plenary

From 29 April to 4 May 2019, representatives of the 132 IPBES members met in Paris, France, to receive the IPBES's full report and
[4][5]
adopted a summary of it forpolicymakers. On 6 May 2019, the 40-page summary was released.

Objective and scope

The Global Assessment Report is a global-level assessment of changes in Earth's biodiversity that have occurred over the past fifty
years. It draws an extensive picture of economic development and its effects on nature in that period. The Report is a collaborative
effort by 145 authors from 50 countries,[6] produced over a three-year period and supported by some 310 authors' contributions.[7]
The Global Assessment Report comprises some 1,700 pages[6] evaluating over 15,000 scientific publications and reports from
indigenous peoples.[8] The Report's authors are predominantly natural scientists, one-third are social scientists, and about ten percent
are interdisciplinary workers.[6]

The IPBES Report—an analog to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), including the IPCC Fifth
[9] It is
Assessment Report—is intended to form a scientific basis for informed political and societal decisions on biodiversity policies.
the first United Nations report on the global state of biodiversity since theMillennium Ecosystem Assessmentpublished in 2005.[10]

Overview
The Report examined the rate of decline in biodiversity and found that the adverse effects of human activities on the world's species
is "unprecedented in human history":[11] one million species, including 40 percent of amphibians, almost a third of reef-building
corals, more than a third of marine mammals, and 10 percent of allinsects are threatened with extinction.[12]

Since the 16th century, at least 680 species of vertebrates have become extinct.[13] By 2016, among mammals, more than nine
percent of livestock breeds were extinct, and another 1,000 breeds are threatened with extinction.[14] The authors have coined the
expression "dead species walking" for the more than 500,000 species that are not yet extinct but, due to changes in, or reduction of,
their habitats, have no chance of long-term survival.[15]

According to the Report, the threat to species diversity is human-caused.[16] The

main cause is the human land requirement, which deprives other species of their
habitats.[8] In the past 50 years, the world's human population has doubled[17] and
biodiversity has suffered a catastrophic decline.[18] Most notably, tropical forests
have been cleared for cattle pastures in South America and for oil-palm plantations
in Southeast Asia.[19] Some 32 million hectares (79 million acres) of tropical
rainforest were destroyed between 2010 and 2015, compared to the 100 million
hectares (250 million acres) lost in the latter two decades of the 20th century.
A 2002 satellite image showing
Already 85 percent of the world'swetlands have been lost.[20]
deforestation due to palm oil farming
The total biomass of wild mammals has decreased by 82 percent, while humans and in Malaysian Borneo.
their farm animals now make up 96 percent of all mammalian biomass on Earth.[8]
Additionally, since 1992 the land requirement for human settlements has more than
doubled worldwide;[21] and humanity has rendered 23 percent of Earth's land ecologically degraded and no longer usable.[20]
[22]
Industrial farming is considered to be one of the major contributors to this decline.

In the oceans, overfishing is a major cause of species loss.[13] Some 300–400 million metric tons (660–880 billion lb) of heavy
metals, solvents, toxic sludge, and other wastes per year enter the water cycle from industrial facilities.[8][23] Since the 19th century,
the world's coral reefs have been reduced by half.[20]

Socioeconomic consequences include threatened loss of food production, due to loss of pollinator insects, valued at between $235
and $577 billion a year; and anticipated loss of the livelihoods of up to 300 million people, due to loss of coastal areas such as
mangrove forests.[20]

Conclusions
The Report concluded that "society needs to shift from a sole focus on chasing economic growth."[6] The Report called on countries
to begin focusing on "restoring habitats, growing food on less land, stopping illegal logging and fishing, protecting marine areas, and
stopping the flow of heavy metals and wastewater into the environment."[24] It also suggests that countries reduce their subsidies to
[25]
industries that are harmful to nature, and increase subsidies and funding to environmentally beneficial programs.

See also
Anthropocene
Biodiversity loss
Defaunation
Effects of global warming
Holocene extinction
Planetary boundaries

References
1. "World is 'on notice' as major UN report shows one million species face extinction"(https://news.un.org/en/story/201
 9/05/1037941). UN News. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
2. Vadrot, Alice B. M.; Rankovic, Aleksandar; Lapeyre, Renaud; Aubert, Pierre-Marie; Laurans, Y
ann (1 March 2018).
"Why are social sciences and humanities needed in the works of IPBES? A systematic review of the literature"
(http
s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5898424). Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science
Research. 31 ("Suppl 1"): 78–100. doi:10.1080/13511610.2018.1443799(https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13511610.201
8.1443799). ISSN 1351-1610 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1351-1610). PMC 5898424 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC5898424). PMID 29706803 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29706803).
3. Duraiappah, Anantha Kumar; Rogers, Deborah (September 2011). "The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Services: opportunities for the social sciences".Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science
Research. 24 (3): 217–224. doi:10.1080/13511610.2011.592052(https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13511610.2011.59205
2). ISSN 1351-1610 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1351-1610).
4. "Media Release: Nature's Dangerous Decline 'Unprecedented'; Species Extinction Rates 'Accelerating
' " (https://ww
w.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment). IPBES. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
5. "Nature's decline 'unprecedented' in human history: 1 million species threatened with extinction"
(https://www.ru.nl/en
glish/news-agenda/news/vm/management/2019/nature-decline-unprecedented-human-history-1/) . Radboud
University.
6. "One million species at risk of extinction, UN report warns"(https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/0
5/ipbes-un-biodiversity-report-warns-one-million-species-at-risk/). National Geographic. 6 May 2019. Retrieved
6 May 2019.
7. Chazan, David (6 May 2019)." 'Mass extinction event' that could wipe out a million species is already underway
,
says UN-backed report"(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/05/06/mass-extinction-event-could-wipe-million-spe
cies-already-underway/). The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0307-1235). Retrieved
8 May 2019.
8. Watts, Jonathan (6 May 2019)."Human society under urgent threat from loss of Earth's natural life"(http://www.theg
uardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report) . The
Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
9. Masood, Ehsan (22 August 2018). "The battle for the soul of biodiversity".
Nature. 560 (7719): 423–425.
Bibcode:2018Natur.560..423M (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018Natur .560..423M). doi:10.1038/d41586-018-
05984-3 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-018-05984-3) . PMID 30135536 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
30135536).
10. Stokstad, Erik (5 May 2019)."Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature"(https://www.scie
ncemag.org/news/2019/05/landmark-analysis-documents-alarming-global-decline-nature) . Science. American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
11. "Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural W orld at an 'Unprecedented' Pace"(https://www.nytimes.
com/2019/05/06/climate/biodiversity-extinction-united-nations.html)
. The New York Times. 6 May 2019. Retrieved
6 May 2019.
12. Hancock, Farah (7 May 2019)."Million species facing extinction: report"(https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/05/07/57
1766?slug=million-species-facing-extinction-report)
. Newsroom. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
13. Borenstein, Seth (6 May 2019)."UN report: Humans accelerating extinction of other species"(https://apnews.com/aa
f1091c5aae40b0a110daaf04950672). AP News. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
14. Shieber, Jonathan (6 May 2019)."New study shows human development is destroying the planet at an
unprecedented rate" (http://social.techcrunch.com/2019/05/06/new-study-shows-human-development-is-destroying-t
he-planet-at-an-unprecedented-rate/). TechCrunch. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
15. Baier, Tina (6 May 2019). "Der Mensch verdrängt eine Million Tier- und Pflanzenarten" (https://www.sueddeutsche.d
e/wissen/artensterben-ipbes-bericht-1.4434207) . Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4917 (https://www.w
orldcat.org/issn/0174-4917). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
16. Resnick, Brian (7 May 2019)."A million species are at risk of extinction. Humans are to blame"(https://www.vox.co
m/science-and-health/2019/5/7/18531171/1-million-species-extinction-ipbes-un-biodiversity-crisis). Vox. Retrieved
8 May 2019.
17. Dalton, Jane (6 May 2019)."UN issues world alert over 'direct threat to humanity
' " (https://www.heraldscotland.com/
news/17622381.un-issues-world-alert-over-direct-threat-to-humanity/) . HeraldScotland. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
18. Cookson, Clive (6 May 2019)."Extinctions increasing at unprecedented pace, UN study warns"(https://www.ft.com/c
ontent/a7a54680-6f28-11e9-bf5c-6eeb837566c5) . Financial Times. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
19. McGrath, Matt (6 May 2019)."Humans 'threaten 1 m species with extinction
' " (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-e
nvironment-48169783). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
20. Schwägerl, Christian (6 May 2019)."Dramatischer Uno-Bericht: Eine Million Arten vom Aussterben bedroht" (https://
www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/artensterben-uno-bericht-beschreibt-dramatischen-verlust-der-artenvielfalt-a-126
5482.html). Spiegel Online. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
21. Fingas, Jon (6 May 2019)."UN study says humans are damaging nature at 'unprecedented' rate"(https://www.engad
get.com/2019/05/06/un-report-human-effect-on-nature/). Engadget. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
22. Vidal, John (15 March 2019)."The Rapid Decline Of The Natural World Is A Crisis Even Bigger Than Climate
Change" (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nature-destruction-climate-change-world-biodiversity_n_5c49e78ce4b06ba
6d3bb2d44). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 10 May 2019. ""The food system is the root of the problem. The cost of
ecological degradation is not considered in the price we pay for food, yet we are still subsidizing fisheries and
agriculture." - Mark Rounsevell"
23. Pirani, Fiza (7 May 2019)."More than 1 million species at risk of extinction because of humans, UN warns"
(https://w
ww.ajc.com/news/world/more-than-million-species-risk-extinction-because-humans-warns/4czBDthqUdICehOzNRIo
OJ/). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
24. "World must undergo huge social and financial transformation to save future of human life, major report finds"(http
s://www.independent.co.uk/environment/un-biodiversity-report-2019-human-future-nature-food-green-farming-waste-
action-a8901776.html). The Independent. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
25. "We're facing a biodiversity crisis, accordingto landmark UN study" (https://blog.ecosia.org/ipbes-report-biodiversity-
solutions/). The Ecosia Blog. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.

External links
Summary, for policymakers, of theGlobal Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

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