Mrshutterbug Wildlife Photography

Mrshutterbug Wildlife Photography

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

A Recuring Theme...... How to Stop Population Growth?

It strikes me having read numerous articles in the past few weeks that there is a common theme on the tip of the tongue, be it from environmentalists, wildlife agencies or Countries themselves .... how to stop global population growth???


Why would we want to do this..... quite simple The UN believes the world is facing the worst losses of animal and plant species since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago.  The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found wildlife in the tropics has declined by 60 per cent since 1970 and The ‘Living Planet Index’ found that the numbers of 2,500 species in 8,000 populations around the world has fallen by 30 per cent. One shocking statistic states that overall the world is using 50 per cent more of the planet’s resources than the world can supply........ 50%

This paints a dire picture, Iconic species like tigers, turtles, gorillas and hundreds of birds species are in danger of going extinct, as well as thousands of lesser-known animals. What would MrShutterbug Wildlife Photography have left to photograph?


And the culprit to this dire loss of animal and plant species....you guessed it Man, Homo Sapiens, You and I.


Not to continually Quote Chris Packham of Autumn watch but his current words echo those of one that is respected worldwide and synonymous with wildlife and the natural world,Sir David Attenborough, he called for governments around the world to start “regulating the population”.


Further quotes from Chris include “The human population is sowing the seeds of a mass extinction event,” he said. “The fact is there is not enough space.” The excessive demands of the growing population is having a disastrous effect on biodiversity. There are too many of us taking too much too quickly.


I have to say this guy is rapidly becoming a voice for the natural world and one i am willing to listen to. Some people may think he is out spoken but i think his voice is one of reason and truth. How we do it is another question all together


Rich countries like Britain are using three times the amount of resources than the planet can sustain, while countries in Africa use a fraction of what they are entitled to. As populations in what were once considered third world countries grow natural habitat of many animals and birds is being destroyed as local populations grab land to sustain themselves or grow "crops" for the developed world.


More than 190 countries will gather in Japan later this week for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to discuss the best way to stop the loss of wildlife around the world. The CBD will come up with a series of targets to try and protect wildlife such as putting aside a certain amount of land for nature reserves, cracking down on invasive species and bringing in subsidies to encourage more environmentally ways of farming and fishing.  For the first time the focus will be on the billions of pounds worth biodiversity provides maintaining water cycles, air quality and food security and how this can be factored into economic decisions.


It seems to me there are two important summits to keep your eye on The united Nations convention and the Tiger Summit in St Petersberg in November

Sorry to sound cliche but the world is in our hands, especially the wildlife we all acclaim to love and cherish.