Environmental Report Warns of Critical Biodiversity Loss

The International Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has released a comprehensive report documenting unprecedented rates of species extinction and ecosystem degradation worldwide.

According to the report, up to one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.

The assessment identifies five primary drivers of biodiversity loss: changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species.

"The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever," said Sir Robert Watson, chair of the panel. "We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide."