Living Planet Index (LPI) tracks the
average trend rather than increases or declines in the total number of animals.
The global LPI 2024 shows a decrease of 73%. Imagine that! Common observation, like
the birds that we used to see so often have become rare, is an indication of cumulative
staggering loss.
The report https://www.livingplanetindex.org/
also elaborates on five tipping points of global significance that we are
nearing. 1). Amazon rainforest drying off which will have devastating
consequences for people, biodiversity and the global climate. Tipping point will
reach if just 20–25% of the Amazon rainforest is destroyed -and as much as 17%
has been deforested already. Read that again 17% of amazon forest is
already destroyed, and so within a decade or so we could tip into no return scenario.
2). Coral reef die off due to coral bleaching have become frequent. Coral
reefs will not be able to function as ecosystem (known as the rainforest of
oceans). For instance, Great Barrier Reef have faced mass coral bleaching
events in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and 2024, as you can see
the frequency and intensity have increased (I have seen videos of desolated
coral reef and divers virtually crying for the loss…the more aware you become devastating
it is. I too sometimes go into deep depression when I go for walk and don’t see
much biodiversity that I used to). 3). Melting ice sheets, two massive ice
sheets -in Greenland and the West Antarctic, are at risk of passing a tipping
point where melting becomes irreversible disrupting ocean circulation and cause
sea levels to rise several metres. 4). Collapse of Atlantic Ocean Circulation
would devastate marine ecosystems, disrupt other ocean currents and
dramatically change global weather patterns. 5). Permafrost thaw
as a result of global warming will release more greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere further exacerbating the impacts of climate crisis..
Apart from other suggestion the report call for nature-based solutions.
One of the most significant sustainable solutions that I have come across few
years back was biomimicry (biomimetic solution). It was a life changing experience
for me. Having spent lots of time in nature, and trying to work out a career in
the field -quite difficult for an outsider in a primitive insecure society, I quite
accidentally read about biomimicry (I wouldn’t say accidental since I was
watching nature quite closely and so was naturally aligning to understanding)
and got into depth of it. Created it as a subject for college students (again
it's arduous in this amazingly mediocre ego driven small minded society), it
really has so much potential considering that India has such amazing biodiversity unlike
West.
Systemic changes can only come from powerful controllers (dubious narration of GDP so on as development) as also more enlightened concerned people -this can only happen with value education as also people not trapped in the rigmarole of daily survival as also society stuck in greed of money and power lacking collective values or concerns. Future of world is in the hands of few enlightened spaces across the world -who nurture some wonderful people (like the one who produce such reports, who explore all across the world to study these). They bring awareness for better world. And thanks to technology common people across the world are able to access these and become aware -trapped as we are in daily vicissitudes of life in increasingly bleak surroundings, these reading does change our mind and receptive for collective action.
*pic is that of Hoopoe -a spectacular looking little bird, that used to be so common when I was kid. I recall spending lots of time watching these birds -they spent most of their time on ground digging and foraging. These birds have become so rare that I haven't really seen them in years (last rare sighting was probably in Mysore -recall it quite clearly inside open area at Mysore zoo -such a pleasant surprise). Sometimes I have dreams about these birds. These vanishings create such devastation.
