Human Impact on Animal Life - Hanya Awan

The changes in the world, such as the development of new technologies and new types of pollutants that are polluting our air from factories and manufacturing corporations, have affected the habitats of animals. According to Scientific American Magazine, humans have wiped out nearly 60 percent of the world’s wildlife population within the last four decades. Since mankind has over-exploited current species, it is no surprise that other factors to the loss of animal habitats include deforestation and agriculture use. The wipe of animal habitats began from 1974 to the present day. While humans are cutting down more trees, the threat of species extinction is growing. According to the World Wildlife Fund’s 2018 Living Planet Report, “Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions.” Even though there is currently about a quarter of the Earth’s land that is free of human damage to wildlife, reporters, and authors expect the number to drop by ten percent by 2050. The effects that will last for the cause of human activity to damage more forests can last a lifetime and cost many lives, even in far areas.

The loss of forests and other damage to wildlife habitats have cut shallow-water coral reefs in half in the last 30 years. Twenty percent of the Amazon rainforest has disappeared over the last 50 years. At the beginning of 1960, about 5 percent of seabirds had plastic in their stomachs, which led to an increase of 90 percent in 2021. If the causes and effects take place, the population of polar bears is expected to drop by 30 percent by 2050 as global warming shrinks the ice the bears need in order to hunt for food. Since the human population is constantly rapidly increasing, the situation will lead to more severe consequences. Plants have been disappearing 1,000 times faster than they were 65 million years ago. Scientists estimate that in the 21st century, 100 species will become extinct every day.

Thus far, climate change has only had a moderate impact on losses; ecosystem

destruction has had a greater effect, but the authors warn that won't last. “However, climate change is quickly accelerating and could take a dominant role in shaping future biodiversity,” the author wrote. “It is also likely that losses of wild species already suffering from more ‘traditional’ threats like habitat loss and overexploitation may be exacerbated by compromising a species’ ability to respond to changes in climate.” The Smithsonian Magazine reports two major reports released this month predict the gloomy future of our planet's wildlife. The Living Planet A report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), published last week, concluded human activity has destroyed and removed wildlife populations globally by 68 percent. The second surprising report is that the UN published a report of the progress of 196 countries that signed in to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, which was a ten-year plan to decrease the collapse of biodiversity globally. However, according to the UN report, the world has cooperatively failed to

achieve one of the goals in the last decade.

Even if we cannot undo the serious, long-lasting effects of climate change, we are still

able to develop new habits to prevent greater losses in the future to create new projects and ambitions.

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“Natural and Human Impacts on Wildlife - NatureWorks.” Nhpbs.org, 2019,

nhpbs.org/natureworks/nwep16b.htm. Accessed 2019.

News, Scott Waldman, E&E. “Human Pressures Have Shrunk Wildlife Populations by 60

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www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-pressures-have-shrunk-wildlife-populations-

by-60-percent/#:~:text=Humans%20have%20wiped%20out%20about. Accessed 7 Nov.

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