Many of us are aware of the climate crisis facing Earth and its inhabitants – now a new study warns of an upcoming ‘biodiversity crisis’ from human population growth.
Researchers at Yale University have calculated the effect of a projected urban expansion of 590,000 square miles (1.53 million square km) over the next 30 years.
Globally, such an expansion directly threatens a total of 855 animal species with the real risk of extinction, they found, especially in ‘biodiversity hotspots’.
Particularly threatened species include Javan slow loris, a primate native to Java in Indonesia that’s threatened by poaching, and pink-headed warbler, a bird found in Mexico and Guatemala.
Species under the most pressure from expansion are concentrated in areas from central Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, Haiti, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, and Ecuador.
Populations of the Javan slow loris (pictured) are already in sharp decline because of poaching for the exotic pet trade. It is also used in research associated with traditional medicine
The new assessment has been led by Rohan Simkin, a researcher at Yale School of the Environment in New Haven, Connecticut.
‘One of the aims of the study was to identify those species, not that just are threatened, but that are specifically threatened by urban land development,’ said Simkin.
‘I think that the average person on the street is very aware of the climate crisis now, but I’m not sure they are aware of the biodiversity crisis.’
Within the next 30 years, the global urban population is projected to increase by 2.5 billion people, which will greatly increase urban spread.
Much of this urban expansion is predicted to occur in biodiversity hotspots – areas rich with species that are at a high risk for destruction due to human activity.
But researchers say a focus on urban planning that protects habitats, such as cities with more green areas, can limit the harmful of impact of new concrete.
Despite the potential for loss of species from land expansion, the study highlights how cities can proactively protect biodiversity, according to author Karen Seto at Yale.
‘The majority of these places have yet to be built,’ she said. ‘Science-driven policies that guide how the cities of tomorrow get built will have a tremendous effect.’
Pictured is the pink-headed warbler, a bird found in the southwestern highlands of Guatemala and the central and southeastern highlands of the Mexican state of Chiapas
For the study, the team used Yale’s Map of Life – a collection of species distribution data used to monitor, research and create policies that protect global species.
It also used recently developed land-use projections to assess future habitat loss from urban land expansion for more than 30,000 terrestrial species globally.
Urban land expansion is a significant driver of habitat loss for about one-third of these species, although a much smaller fraction is threatened by the threat of extinction.
The study found that the largest impacts on species are not from the world’s largest cities, but from urban areas that have ‘a myriad of endemic species’ and where expansion can destroy habitats.
Researchers say a focus on urban planning that protects habitats, such as cities with more green areas, can limit the harmful of impact of new concrete. Pictured is a ‘green’ building with climber plants (file photo)
Unfortunately, these areas are rapidly becoming more urbanized, according to the experts.
Many of these cities are in equatorial regions where urban growth can rip through precious and ‘biodiverse’ habitats.
The cities that pose the greatest threat to species due to expansion are predominately located in the developing tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa, South America, Mesoamerica, and Southeast Asia.
Overall, the study shows how there’s a need for global conservation efforts to include policies to preserve species in urban land.
‘Cities are actually part of the solution,’ said Seto. ‘We can build cities differently than we have in the past.
‘They can be good for the planet; they can save species; they can be biodiversity hubs and save land for nature.’
Full findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The results of the study and projected patterns of urban expansion and biodiversity impact can also be found here.
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