For the first time, most of the planet’s trees have been included on the IUCN red list, with at least 16,425 species at risk of extinction of the 47,282 identified.
The IUCN red list, a global inventory of the conservation status of plant and animal species, was updated on Monday with alarming figures: of the total of 166,061 species evaluated, 46,337 are threatened with extinction and 10,235 are critically endangered. More than 900 have already disappeared.
The result of the first “World Tree Assessment”
Colombia, one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, is hosting COP16 until November 1, where 196 States are debating to reach agreements that will stop the destruction of nature.
Around 23,000 delegates, including a hundred ministers and a dozen heads of state, meet in Cali (southwest) under the motto of “Peace with nature” that identifies this edition of the United Nations summit.
“The loss of tree species It is harmful not only to ecosystems, but also to the species that use trees as habitatsuch as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, other plants and fungi,” expert Emily Beech explained to AFP.
Trees currently make up more than a quarter of the IUCN inventory, and The number of these threatened species is more than double that of all the birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians at risk combined.
“Trees are essential to sustaining life on Earth becauseu vital role in ecosystemsand millions of people depend on them,” Grethel Aguilar, director general of the IUCN, stressed in the report.
This first global overview of the conservation status of the trees is the result of lThe mobilization of a global network of more than 100 institutional partners and more than 1,000 experts.
Tree species threatened with extinction are cataloged in 192 countries.
“We hope that this terrifying statistic of one in three trees in danger of extinction will spur urgent action and be used to guide conservation plans”Eimear Nic Lughadha, senior researcher in conservation assessment and analysis at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in England, noted in the report.
How climate change affects trees
According to the report, “Climate change is increasingly threatening treesespecially in the tropics, through rising sea levels and stronger, more frequent storms.”
“The highest proportion of threatened trees are found on the islands (…)due to deforestation for urban development and agriculture at all scales, as well as invasive species, pests and diseases,” he added.
In South America -where the greatest diversity of trees in the world is found- 3,356 of the 13,668 registered species are threatened with extinction.
The report also shows that the loss of trees It is a major threat to thousands of other plants, fungi and animals. According to the IUCN, “as a defining component of many ecosystems, trees are fundamental to life on Earth through their role in carbon, water and nutrient cycles, soil formation and climate regulation.”
“We now know where to act to efficiently address the extinction crisis affecting the world’s trees. There is no longer an excuse not to act. “With such a large number of threatened tree species, the task is enormous, but it has already begun,” he said in the bulletin. Jean-Christophe Vié, director of the Franklinia Foundation, which funded most of the global tree assessment.
For the expert, “Trees are considered an easy solution to climate change and trees are planted everywhere” but “the way reforestation is carried out must be improved (…) by diversifying the species and including threatened species.”
Forestry and its commercial exploitation are also threatened, with more than 5,000 red list tree species used for timber, and more than 2,000 for the pharmaceutical and food industries.
“Most of the world’s top 100 tropical timber and pulp companies have made only limited progress in the dissemination of its commitments regarding traceability and zero deforestation,” he stressed Sam Rossanalyst of the Sustainable Enterprises project at the Zoological Society of London.
Ross calls for responsibility “consumer goods manufacturers, financial institutions that finance forestry and agricultural businesses.”
Source: Ambito
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