World has become suicidal

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 World has become suicidal

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• Two major reports: Sept 2020 saw two big reports on the planet's deteriorating ecological health - (a) the "Living Planet Index" (LPI) by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and (b) the "Global Biodiversity Outlook" (GBO) by IPBES (Inter-govt Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.   [ WWF is a.k.a. the World Wildlife Federation ]
• 'Library of life' dying: A mass of species evolved over crores of years is now being permanently lost, and homo sapiens will soon face the prospect of its own extinction. In 2019-20, signals have been clear - 

1. Fires in the Australian forests, California, Brazilian rainforests, and ancient Siberian forests. 
2. Locust swarms across Africa and Asia
3. Covid-19 pandemic (the UN Secy General considers it the link between human's treatment of nature and new disease emergence)

• Unsustainable: The rate at which humans are exploiting nature is now unsustainable. The 1993 CBD (Convention on Bio Diversity) acknowledged it thus. But sadly, neither could the 1992 Rio Convention nor the 1993 CBD could change our habits.
• Extinct: The GBO claimed in 2019 that 1 million of the 9 million plants and animals may die down for ever soon, due to habitat destruction, pollution, over-exploitation, invasive species spreading and climate change. The LPI states that the population of 21000 species (mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians) went down by 68% between 1970 and 2016. 
• Sixth mass extinction: All this sounds like the sixth mass extinction, the only one in 450 crore years of planetary history to be the result of actions of a single species (homo sapiens).
• Aichi targets: The 2010 Aichi summit in Japan adopted 20 targets for 2010-2020, a comprehensive and huge plan to protect planetary biodiversity. Status as on date - four targets are in reverse, and six are met partially! Human consumption and technology are ensuring this.
• Plastics and toxicity: Huge plastic waste is gathering in the oceans, adding to the toxicity created by pesticides and fertilisers. The GBO and LPI have called for massive reversal of present trends.
• Tipping point, and 8 focus areas: The planet is about to reach a tipping point, from where it'd be impossible to return. There are 8 targets in GBO - land and forests, agriculture, food systems, fisheries and oceans, cities and infra, climate action, and integrated "One Health" global framework. But given the way the global community tackled the Covid pandemic, hope remains low.
• What is missing: All tools are available - the science, the treaties (Paris deal, CBD, SDGs) - but what is missing is the right leadership and sense of common humanity. The selfishness of nation-states will lead all of us to mutual destruction. Even India is doing little to contribute to saving the world, despite the claim to a rich culture that respects nature.

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