Key Findings of the report:
- Extinction of species: Up to 1 million species are at risk of extinction. A quarter of known plant and animal species are already threatened. The loss of species is tens to hundreds of times higher than it has been, on average, over the last 10 million years.
- Reason for species extinction: The direct causes of species loss, in order of importance, are shrinking habitat and land-use change, hunting for food or illicit trade in wildlife body parts, climate change and pollution.
- Impact on ecosystem: Three-quarters of the land, almost half of marine environments and half of inland waterways have been "severely" changed by human activity. This is primarily due to Human activity, such as overconsumption, illegal poaching, deforestation and fossil fuel emissions, which is pushing ecosystems toward a point of no return.
- Impact of Humans: These changes will harm humans, especially indigenous groups and those living in the poorest communities.
- Way ahead: 130 nations will meet in Paris on April 29 to examine the 44-page report that summarizes a 1,800-page assessment of scientific literature conducted by the U.N.
