PUBLISHED: 11:13
20 May 2019 | UPDATED: 16:57 20 May 2019
Experts
from the RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Buglife and the Suffolk Biodiversity
Information name species they believe could become extinct from our region.
A major
study published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) earlier this month warned that
wildlife and habitats are declining at an "unprecedented" rate
worldwide and that up to a million species of plants and animals are at risk of
extinction, a greater number than ever before in human history. Many could
vanish within decades, the United Nations-backed global assessment of 50
countries revealed.
But what
of East Anglia, how are species faring here?
According
to Martin Sanford, manager at the Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service,
this worrying global trend is mirrored in our region with species and habitats
under threat.
Human
activity
"Whether
you measure it [the biodiversity in East Anglia] at the eco-system level, or
the species or genetic level - the complexity of the life we have is
reducing," he said.
For Mr
Sanford, the problem starts with the damage human activity has caused to the
worms and mites in our soil and other smaller creatures in our rivers and
stream
"If
we compare the soil of an ancient meadow or woodland, where you will find a
vast wealth of microscopic life, with the range of life in an agricultural soil
- it is tiny by comparison. That's a result of us continually spraying it with
pesticides and fungicides," he continued.
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