Thursday 23 May 2019

13 wildlife species in danger of disappearing from East Anglia


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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