Justin Bieber and Hailey celebrate their wedding anniversary in style

Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber celebrated their wedding anniversary with a delicious meal

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Jennifer Lopez invites a nurse to be her special guest at future concert

Jennifer Lopez has invited the fan to be her special guest at a post-pandemic concert, saying, 'Bring a bunch of your girlfriends, and we'll have a good time'

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Jennifer Lopez enjoys romantic bike ride with fiancé Alex Rodriguez

donned a striped ensemble as she effortlessly kept up with the retired Major League Baseball player

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Jennifer Lopez's daughter Emme Muñiz to release picture book

Jennifer Lopez has shared a photo of 12-year-old daughter Emme Muñiz holding her book which depicts a person praying

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Dua Lipa applies to trademark her name in bid to make a fortune

Lawyers for Dua Lipa has also filed applications to protect her name and brand in the US and Canada, Europe, Australia, Israel and the Far East

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Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Chris Martin to perform in 'Stay Home Live Lounge'

Music artists unite for Radio 1 Live Lounge charity singleThe radio special comes hot on the heels of Lady Gaga's the 'One World: Together At Home' TV special

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Kim Kardashian flabbergasts fans with fresh faced seventh grade throwback pic

Kim Kardashian has shared an adorable photograph of her school days on Instagram

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UN seeks protection of at least 30pc of planet by 2030

PARIS: Thirty percent of Earth´s surface across land and sea should become protected areas by 2030 to ensure the viability of ecosystems essential to human wellbeing, according to a UN plan released Monday.

The draft proposal to halt the degradation of Nature and the gathering pace of species loss will be vetted by nearly 200 countries gathering in October for a make-or-break biodiversity summit, the 15th since 1994.

Up to now, UN targets to safeguard or restore ecosystems have failed for lack of political backing, implementation and enforcement.

But the need for action has never been so urgent: last year the first UN "state of Nature" report in two decades found that one million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction.

Across the board, humanity has been the culprit. Even in recent decades, Homo sapiens have crowded, eaten, poached and poisoned many species to the brink of oblivion, and pushed others over the edge.

Last week, for example, scientists declared the freshwater Chinese paddlefish -- which thrived for 200 million years -- extinct.

Global warming has also begun to take a toll, with far worse impacts on the not-so-distant horizon, experts say.

"This is an incredibly important year to address the crisis facing Nature and climate," said Costa Rica´s energy and environment minister, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez.

"They are two sides of the same coin and we must address both crises aggressively."

The so-called "zero draft" report calls for carving out at least 30 percent of land and sea areas, with at least 10 percent under strict protection, to conserve biodiversity hot spots.

The proposed figures are to be negotiated at the UN-led talks, a process similar to the one that yielded the Paris climate treaty.

- ´Paris moment´ for biodiversity -

Indeed, conservationists hope the October meeting in Kunming, China, will be a "Paris moment" for biodiversity which has received far less attention -- and money -- than global warming.

Experts and environmentalists welcomed the plan´s cornerstone target, but remained sceptical as to whether the political will exists to make sure it is met.

"This is an ambitious proposal," said Aleksandar Rankovic, coordinator for post-2020 international biodiversity governance at IDDRI, and Paris-based environmental policy think tank.

But two previous attempts to set 10-year goals came to naught, he pointed out.

"The zero draft represents a solid step towards a master plan for halting global biodiversity loss in this new decade," said Li Shuo of Greenpeace East Asia.

But the proposal is "thin on the relevant enabling conditions, such as an implementation mechanisms and resource mobilisation."

"Only outlining ´where we need to be´ is not enough. We have to equip the vision with ´how do we actually get there´," he added.

Brian O´Donnell, head of Campaign for Nature, approved of the 30 percent target but wondered what was to become of the rest if only 10 percent falls "under strict management."

The plan also calls for Nature-based solutions to climate change such reforestation, protecting wetlands and soil restoration, suggesting they could account for "at least 30 percent of efforts to achieve the Paris Agreement targets" over the next 30 years.

The spread of invasive species, and pollution from pesticides and plastic, should be reduced by 50 percent by 2030, the proposal suggests.

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Thunberg brings her climate protest to Canada´s oil patch

OTTAWA: Teen activist Greta Thunberg rallied with climate change protesters in Canada´s oil-rich province of Albert on Friday, as oil workers counter-protested by honking the horns of their big rigs."We are doing this because our future is at stake," Thunberg told a crowd organizers estimated to be in the thousands, which gathered in front of the provincial legislature in Edmonton."We will not be bystanders. We are doing this because we want the people in power to unite behind science."But while many shouted their support for Thunberg, who has become the face of the fight against political inaction on global warming, counter-protesters who supported oil production traveled to the city to make their distaste for Thunberg known, blaring their horns as she spoke."We care for the environment, of course we do. What they need to understand is that we´re hurting and we also need to care about Alberta jobs," a counter-protester told Canadian media before joining a convoy of 50 vehicles that set out from Red Deer, Alberta for the provincial capital.Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, speaking at the Friday opening of a new gas pipeline in the province, which holds the world´s third largest oil reserves, also had a message for Thunberg and her supporters."When they charged their iPhones last night, that power came from this plant," he said, pointing to the former coal-fired Keephills power plant near Edmonton that was being converted to natural gas."Albertans and Canadians are practical people," he said. "They like real world solutions. Calling for the end of the modern industrial economy, advocating to put millions of people out of work... is not a real world solution."Alberta´s energy industry is "taking bold risks, spending real money to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions," he added.The province´s oil sands are the single largest source of CO2 emissions in Canada. The sector has been hotly criticized by environmental groups, while a flight of foreign investment and a lack of pipelines to new markets has strangled development.Last month, Thunberg marched in Montreal with nearly half-a-million supporters, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It was one of the largest rallies in Canadian history.

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North American bird population fell by quarter over 50 years: study

WASHINGTON: The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by an astonishing 29 percent, or almost three billion, since 1970, scientists reported Thursday, saying their findings signaled a widespread ecological crisis.Grassland birds are the most affected, because of the disappearance of meadows and prairies and the extension of farmland, as well as the growing use of pesticides that kill insects that affects the entire food chain.But forest birds and species that occur in a wider variety of habitats -- known as habitat generalists -- are also part of the downward trend."We see the same thing happening the world over, the intensification of agriculture and land use changes are placing pressure on these bird populations," Ken Rosenberg, an ornithologist at Cornell University and principal co-author of the paper in Science told AFP."Now, we see fields of corn and other crops right up to the horizon, everything is sanitized and mechanized, there´s no room left for birds, fauna and nature."More than 90 percent of the losses are from 12 species including sparrows, warblers, blackbirds, and finches.The figures mirror declines observed elsewhere, notably France, where the National Observatory of Biodiversity estimates a 30 percent decline in grasslands birds between 1989 and 2017.The US study combined two data sources.The first was annual surveys carried out each spring, during the breeding season, conducted by thousands of volunteers, according to an identical methodology, since 1970.The volunteers stopped every half-mile along a 25-mile (40 kilometer) journey through the countryside, counting all the birds they saw in a three minute period. Researchers then compiled and analyzed the results.The second source came from observations from 143 radar stations which can detect the flocks of birds during migrations that took place at night.More than half of the North American bird species are migratory, flying either to the southern US or to Central and South America,The radar information was less precise but also showed a decline of 13.6 percent between 2007 and 2017, with a margin of error of nine points.Ducks and geese are the big exception: after a period of decline, their numbers have grown since 1970.That is thanks to increased awareness among hunters who have supported protection measures, Rosenberg said.Ornithologists also mention other factors, such as cats left outside, and even birds dying after smashing into the windows of houses.The number killed in this way is far from insignificant: researchers in 2014 estimated it at between 365 million and a billion per year.

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Trump confirms interest in buying Greenland

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed his interest in buying Greenland, but said it was not a priority for his administration."It´s something we talked about," Trump told reporters."The concept came up and I said certainly, strategically it´s interesting and we´d be interested, but we´ll talk to (Denmark) a little bit," he said, stressing that it was "not number one on the burner" for the government.The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Trump had expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark -- which is mostly covered in ice -- asking advisors if it would be possible for the US to acquire the territory.The president, a former real estate magnate, has been curious about the area´s natural resources and geopolitical relevance, the paper said.When asked if he would consider trading a US territory for Greenland, Trump replied that "a lot of things could be done.""Essentially, it´s a large real estate deal," he said."It´s hurting Denmark very badly because they´re losing almost $700 million a year carrying it... and strategically, for the United States, it would be nice," he added.Denmark colonized the 772,000 square-mile (two-million square kilometer) island in the 18th century. It is home to only about 57,000 people, most of whom belong to the indigenous Inuit community.Greenland´s ministry of foreign affairs insisted Friday the island was ready to talk business, but was not for sale. "#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism," it tweeted. "We´re open for business, not for sale," it added.

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Cyclone Vayu to hit Gujrat today: Temperature soars in Karachi

KARACHI: Indian government has  evacuated at least 300,000 residents to shelters along the coast in Gujarat as a cyclone Vayu intensified over the Arabian Sea and likely to hit land on Thursday (today). Indian media ,citing  weather officials ,  reported that  Cyclone Vayu, with wind speeds equivalent to those of a Category 1 hurricane, is set to cross the coast with sustained wind speeds of 145 kph to 155 kph (90 mph to 96 mph), and could gust as high as 170 kph (106 mph). The government has begun moving about 300,000 people from the area. While the Western Railways cancelled 70 trains and curtailed the journeys of 28 others as Cyclone Vayu inched closer to the Gujarat coastline, growing stronger along the way. KARACHIThe Cyclone upgraded to Category-1 earlier on Wednesday, intensifying as ‘Very Severe Cyclonic Storm’ (VSCS) and is currently located at a distance of about 645 km from Karachi, worsening the heatwave in Karachi and pushing the mercury forecast to hit 39-42°C. It is noteworthy, however, that the ‘feels like’ temperature could shoot to 47-50°C owing to Karachi's humidity while the heatwave in the port city — as well as in the entire Sindh province — is expected to continue on till June 16, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said.While the sea breeze, too, is predicted to remain cut off, a sandstorm with a touch of light rain is expected in Karachi today (Thursday), it added. The PMD said the effect of Cyclone Vayu would be limited to India's Gujrat but is expected to hit its shore in the evening today.

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Mother, daughter sue France over ill health from air pollution

BOBIGNY:A Paris court began hearing a case brought by a mother and daughter who, in a legal first in France, are suing the state for damages over ill health caused by air pollution.The mother and the daughter are asking for 160,000 euros ($179,000) in damages from the state at the administrative court of Montreuil in the east of Paris.They argue the authorities did not take effective measures against atmospheric pollution, in particular during the very high pollution that Paris endured in December 2016.The pair say this had an effect on their health, especially as they were living at the time in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Ouen, just outside the clogged peripherique ring road.The peripherique -- opened in 1973 -- takes 1.1 million drivers a day but is also a nightmare for the 100,000 people living around it.Both say they developed respiratory problems that were accentuated during pollution peaks. The mother, 52, has had to take time off work and the daughter, 16, suffered asthma crises.They have since moved to the city of Orleans on doctors' advice and their health has improved considerably, says lawyer Francois Lafforgue.Their legal team argues that French authorities failed to implement rules to better protect the population, did not use all the measures at their disposal and did not properly enforce measures when agreed.In total, around 50 people across France are taking similar actions against the French state, said Sebastien Vray, the founder of the NGO Respire, which assists the cases of the plaintiffs.He said the fact the case has come to court is already a victory. "When I founded Respire eight years ago I had the aim that one day there would be a legal link between pollution heights and an individual's illness."Both Vray and Lafforgue said this is the first time such a case has reached a court in France.In France, air pollution is responsible for 48,000 premature deaths every year, according to the Public Health France agency.In December 2016, Paris was smothered in its worst winter pollution in a decade, with authorities ordering odd and even number plate cars off the roads on alternate days.It was only the fourth time such a measure had been taken following severe pollution episodes in 1997, 2014 and 2015.As pollution climbs up the political agenda ahead of 2020 municipal elections, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is looking at proposals to limit pollution on the peripherique, including cutting the speed limit to 50 kilometres per hour (30 mph).Three other similar cases are due to be looked at by the Paris administrative court in June, according to Lafforgue.In May 2018, the European Commission took France and five other countries to the European Court of Justice for failing to apply long-sought steps to improve air quality.In France's case the move came after 12 years of warnings over fine particles as well as nitrogen dioxide levels, which in some cities were more than double EU limits.

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Sunny weather likely in Karachi on Wednesday

KARACHI: The metropolis is likely to experience sunny weather over the next 24 hours, said the Meteorological Department on Tuesday.The maximum temperature is expected to remain in the range between 35 to 37 degrees centigrade with 55 to 65 percent humidity in the city.Hot or very hot and dry weather is likely to prevail during the next 24 hours throughout Sindh.

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Illegal hunting threatens songbird prized as delicacy: study

WASHINGTON:Every year, nearly five million breeding pairs of ortolan buntings -- a type of tiny songbird classified as endangered in several countries -- migrate from Europe to Africa for the winter.About 300,000 of the birds pass through southwestern France, where they fall prey to hunters who for decades have defied bans on harvesting them in the name of gastronomic tradition.You see, the ortolan bunting is seen by elite chefs and foodies as a rare culinary treat -- one that is consumed whole, bones and all, with a napkin over one's head, for privacy and to better inhale its aroma.Late French president Francois Mitterrand was a noted fan. And even though his country listed the species as protected in 1999 after his death, the hunt has gone on.Now, European experts say in a study published Wednesday in the US journal Science Advances that illegal hunting is precipitating the demise of the ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana), which is already suffering due to loss of its natural habitat and other factors."If hunting of the ortolan continues, it will lead to the ortolan's disappearance," Frederic Jiguet, a professor at France's national museum of natural history and the study's main author, told AFP.Extinction? Jiguet had already led a study commissioned by France's environment ministry to try to settle the battle between the French state and hunters about the ortolan on a scientific basis.That study, published in 2016 and financed in part by the hunting federation in the southwestern Landes region, estimated the number of songbirds migrating across France had dropped 20-30 percent from 2000 to 2014.In the new study, researchers went farther, calculating the risk of the bird's extinction under several scenarios.The most optimistic case would yield a risk of extinction of 66 percent within a century, if the hunt in France were to be cut by 15,000 birds a season, out of the estimated 30,000 that are caught each year."Removing 30,000 birds each autumn from the population crossing France constitutes a significant contribution to the decline of the species," Jiguet said.Like all birds in rural areas, the ortolan buntings are also falling victim to modern agricultural practices, a drop in the insect population, and pesticide use, but hunting is seen as compounding those factors."Ending the hunt would give the ortolan an average of twice the chance of survival," Jiguet said. "It would not necessarily save it. We'd then have to change ways of farming."European and activist pressures The ortolan only weighs 20 grams (0.04 pounds). Its consumption is seen by many as something of a transformative culinary experience.Michelin-starred celebrity chef Alain Ducasse angered animal rights activists by serving the birds at an invitation-only meal at the posh Le Cirque in New York in 1995."It's sort of a hot rush of fat, guts, bones, blood and meat, and it's really delicious," the late chef Anthony Bourdain told Stephen Colbert of the meal in a 2011 interview.The bird was even consumed in an episode of the Showtime drama "Billions" last year.In 1979, the European Union's Birds directive listed the bird as a protected species, but the French state long turned a blind eye to ortolan hunting, only proceeding with its own listing 20 years later.But in the Landes region, local authorities still allowed a limited number of traps despite pressure from Brussels, which eventually filed a legal complaint over the practice before an EU court in 2016.France's Birds Protection League has consistently battled for the hunt to end.Its members regularly tried to destroy traps -- prompting an angry scene in 2015 that went viral, with an underwear-clad hunter wielding a shovel to chase them away.Last week, France's highest court upheld a ruling that fined hunters who had violated the laws on ortolan hunting.Frederic Dutin, a lawyer for an association of traditional trappers in the Landes, told AFP on Wednesday that the group wanted "the re-establishment of a strictly regulated 'tolerance' to allow for observation of the evolution of ortolan populations."But for Jiguet, recent studies have "helped the government to make decisions, and hunters to accept them."

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China offers customized data services to Pakistan for disaster prevention

BEIJING: China will offer customized data services to more countries including Pakistan for disaster prevention through its Fengyun meteorological satellites along the Belt and Road, said a senior official of the China Meteorological Administration’s National Satellite Meteorological Center.The services will be provided based on the results of a survey of 81 nations. By the end of April, 22 countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Libya and Sudan had responded to the survey, China Daily reported on Wednesday. So far, 15 countries, including Iran and Mongolia, have made use of the service.Meanwhile, all the 22 respondents said they wanted to install the application software platforms for weather forecasting, as well as climate and environment monitoring through Fengyun satellites.They requested a range of services, especially monitoring of rainfall, drought, dust storms, heavy fog, and lightning, in addition to training in Fengyun meteorological satellite data analysis, remote-sensing applications and data collection.Many countries along the Belt and Road routes have high mountains, deserts, oceans and a lack of accurate meteorological information. The number of meteorological disasters in these regions was more than double the global average, the administration said.Wei Caiying, deputy director-general of the National Satellite Meteorological Center, said real-time disaster monitoring by meteorological satellites could provide these countries with a scientific basis for disaster prevention and reduction.“Weather-related disasters such as typhoons pose a threat to life and property. Tracking their path could help the local authorities to decide how to proceed with evacuations,” she said.In addition to real-time monitoring, the China Meteorological Administration set up the Emergency Support Mechanism for international users of Fengyun satellites in April last year, which covers disaster prevention and mitigation.With the help of this mechanism, an on-duty satellite can switch to a quick-scan mode, focusing on areas required by users when they are hit by disasters.“During disasters, Fengyun satellites can scan as often as every five or six minutes. The China Meteorological Administration could send users cloud images via satellites,” Wei said.China has launched 17 Fengyun series meteorological satellites, of which seven are currently in operation.The World Meteorological Organization, an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 192 member states and territories, has included China’s Fengyun series of meteorological satellites as a major element of its Global Earth Observation System.

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Karachi likely to experience partly cloudy weather on Thursday

KARACHI: The Met Office on Wednesday forecast partly cloudy weather in the metropolis during the next 24 hours.The maximum temperature is expected to remain in the range of 33 to 35 degree centigrade with 44 to 55 percent humidity.Mainly hot or very hot and dry weather is likely to prevail overmost parts of Sindh during the next 24 hours.However dust-thunderstorm or light rain may occur at isolated paces in Sukkur and Larkana divisions.

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Catapulting spider winds up web to launch at prey: study

WASHINGTON: Just when you thought spiders couldn’t get any more terrifying.A study published Monday has found that an arachnid species is capable of winding up its web to store up elastic energy, before releasing its grip and catapulting itself at furious speed toward its unsuspecting prey.The development places the triangle-weaver spider, or Hyptiotes cavatus, alongside humans as the other known species to amplify muscular energy with external devices, a feat people achieve with crossbows or ballistae.Researcher Sarah Han, a doctoral student at the University of Akron in Ohio, said she had been intrigued by the spider during her walks in the woods."It did this interesting mechanism while hunting we didn’t really know that much about," she told AFP. "People had written about it in an observational way but no one had quantified it."Han and colleagues observed the spiders under lab conditions, recording high-speed videos of them as they hunted flies."The spider uses its muscles to wind back the web -- like you use your arms to hold a bow string -- then holds it in that position till a prey comes into contact with the web," she said -- maintaining tension on its anchor line for hours on end."When the spider releases the web, both spider and web accelerate forward very rapidly."The rapidly moving web tangles around the prey insect, starting the capture process from a distance."The team’s paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that the spiders launched themselves forward at accelerations of up to 772.85 meters per second squared -- or the equivalent of 400 body lengths in a second.They confirmed that the action was a result of latent energy stored in the silk being released, as opposed to just jumping using the power of its legs, by calculating the total power generated and finding it vastly exceeded the potential output of its muscle mass alone.The spider also maintained a fixed body posture after releasing its hind tarsal claw.According to the study, using a constructed device as a weapon offered numerous advantages, freeing the spider from the need to evolve specialized anatomy to generate and store energy.It also allowed Hyptiotes to attack their prey from afar, reducing the potential for taking damage -- advantages that also led humans to develop power-amplifying weapons.According to Han, there could be more species of spiders using stored energy in silk to capture prey, an area for potential further study.Moreover, the team were unable to determine the spider’s "catch mechanism" for holding on to the web, which could yield practical applications for humans down the line."It’s valuable in that understanding how it can hold such a large amount of energy compared to its body size," said Han. "Maybe it’s come up with something novel that we can use."

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Here we go again: Earth´s major ´mass extinctions´

Whether humanity has pushed the planet into a "mass extinction" event may be a matter of definition, but by any measure the rate at which life-forms are disappearing is deeply alarming, scientists say."In each of the five previous mass extinctions, we lost about 75 percent of species," said Robert Watson, head of the UN science panel on biodiversity, which unveiled a grim assessment of the state of Nature on Monday.Over the last several centuries Earth has lost about two percent, and so -- by that criterion -- remains far below the threshold, he told AFP.But if one looks instead at the rate at which species are dying off, the picture becomes bleaker.Currently the pace of extinctions is up to several hundred times greater than the average over the last ten million years, the new report concluded. At that rate, we could hit the 75 percent mark within a couple of hundred years. Here are Earth´s biggest die-offs over the last half-billion years, each showing up in the fossil record at the boundary between geological periods.- Ordovician extinction - When: about 445 million years agoSpecies lost: 60-70 percent Likely cause: Short but intense ice ageMost life at this time was in the oceans. It is thought that the rapid, planet-wide formation of glaciers froze much of the world´s water, causing sea levels to fall sharply. Marine organisms such as sponges and algae, along with primitive snails, clams, cephalopods and jawless fish called ostracoderms, all suffered as a consequence.- Devonian extinction -When: about 375-360 million years agoSpecies lost: up to 75 percent Likely cause: oxygen depletion in the oceanAgain, ocean organisms were hardest hit. Fluctuations in sea level, climate change, and asteroid strikes are all suspects. One theory holds that the massive expansion of plant life on land released compounds that caused oxygen depletion in shallow waters. Armoured, bottom-dwelling marine creatures called trilobites were among the many victims, though some species survived.- Permian extinction - When: about 252 million years agoSpecies lost: 95 percent Possible causes: asteroid impact, volcanic activity The mother of all extinctions, the "Great Dying" devastated ocean and land life alike, and is the only event to have nearly wiped out insects as well. Some scientists say the die-off occurred over millions of years, while others argue it was highly concentrated in a 200,000-year period.In the sea, trilobites that had survived the last two wipeouts finally succumbed, along with some sharks and bony fishes. On land, massive reptiles known as moschops met their demise. Asteroid impacts, methane release and sea level fluctuations have all been blamed.- Triassic extinction - When: about 200 million years agoSpecies lost: 70-80 percent Likely causes: multiple, still debated The mysterious Triassic die-out eliminated a vast menagerie of large land animals, including most archosaurs, a diverse group that gave rise to dinosaurs, and whose living relatives today are birds and crocodiles. Most big amphibians were also eliminated.One theory points to massive lava eruptions during the breakup of the super-continent Pangea, which might have released huge amounts of carbon dioxide, causing runaway global warming. Other scientists suspect asteroid strikes are to blame, but matching craters have yet to be found.- Cretaceous extinction - When: about 66 million years agoSpecies lost: 75 percent Likely cause: asteroid strike A space rock impact is suspect No. 1 for the extinction event that wiped out the world´s non-avian dinosaurs, from T-Rex to the three-horned Triceratops. A huge crater off Mexico´s Yucatan Peninsula supports the asteroid hypothesis.But most mammals, turtles, crocodiles and frogs survived, along with birds as well as most sea life, including sharks, starfish and sea urchins. With dinosaurs out of the way, mammals flourished, eventually giving rise to the species -- Homo sapiens -- that has sparked fear of the sixth mass extinction.SOURCES: Peer-reviewed studies, National Geographic, Encyclopaedia Britannica.

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Save Nature to save ourselves, UN report pleads

PARIS: Humanity is rapidly destroying the natural world upon which our prosperity -- and ultimately our survival -- depends, according to a landmark UN assessment of the state of Nature released Monday.Changes wrought by decades of pillaging and poisoning forests, oceans, soil and air threaten society "at least as much as climate change," said Robert Watson, who chaired the 132-nation meeting that validated a Summary for Policymakers forged by 450 experts.One million animal and plant species face extinction, many within decades, they reported.Alarmingly, the accelerating pace at which unique life-forms are disappearing -- already tens to hundreds of times faster than during the last ten million years -- could tip Earth into the first mass extinction since non-avian dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago.In the short term, humans are not at risk, said Josef Settele, a professor at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany and co-chair of the UN Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)."In the longer term, it is hard to say," he told AFP. "If humans do go extinct, Nature will find its way, it always does."Halting and reversing these dire trends will require "transformative change" -- a sweeping overhaul of the way we produce and consume almost everything, especially food, the report concluded."We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality-of-life worldwide," said Watson.The pushback from "vested interests," he added, is likely to be fierce."We will agree on the best ways to enhance the place of biodiversity on the international stage," French environment minister Francois de Rugy said at a meeting of G7 environment ministers in eastern France.Drawing from 15,000 sources and an underlying 1,800-page report, the executive summary details how our growing footprint and appetites have compromised the natural renewal of resources that sustain civilisation, starting with fresh water, breathable air, and productive soil.An October report from the UN´s climate science panel painted a similarly dire picture for global warming, and likewise highlighted the need for social transformation "on an unprecedented scale" to cap the rise in temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).Climate change and biodiversity loss, it turns out, feed off each other in a vicious cycle.Deforestation and industrial agriculture are major drivers of species and ecosystem decline, but also account for at least a quarter of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.Global warming, in turn, is pushing thousands of animals and plants out of their comfort zones, and intensifies the kind of heatwaves and droughts that recently fuelled unprecedented fires in Australia, Indonesia, Russia, Portugal, California and Greece.The overlapping drivers of global warming and biodiversity loss point to shared solutions, but there is potential for policy conflict too, the new report cautioned.Plans to green the global economy reserve a crucial role for burning biofuels and locking away the CO2 released, a technology known as BECCS.But the huge tracts of land needed to grow energy crops on this scale -- roughly twice the size of India -- would clash with the expansion of protected areas and reforestation efforts, not to mention food production.For the first time, the UN body has ranked the top five causes of species lost and the degradation of Nature.By a long shot, the first two are diminished or degraded habitat, and hunting for food or trade -- often illicit -- in body parts.All but seven percent of major marine fish stocks, for example, are in decline or exploited to the limit of sustainability despite efforts by regional management organisations to fish sustainably.Global warming is third on the list, but is likely to move up."We can see the climate change signal getting stronger really, really quickly," IPBES co-chair Sandra Diaz, a professor at the National University of Cordoba in Argentina, told AFP.Numbers four and five are pollution -- 400 million tonnes of heavy metals, toxic sludge and other waste are dumped into oceans and rivers each year -- and alien species, such as rats, mosquitoes, snakes and plants that hitch rides on ships or planes."Every extinction of a species is a failure of humankind," said Alexandre Antonelli director of Britain´s Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, reacting to the report."We can´t just preserve, we must reverse the trend by increasing biodiversity."The heavily negotiated text does not set benchmarks for progress or "last chance" deadlines for action, as the 2018 climate report did.In an open letter, some 600 experts, business leaders and celebrities led by conservationist Jane Goodall urged world leaders to "halt the decline in Nature"."We must radically change the way we live, including how we use energy to power our societies, grow our food, and manage our waste," they wrote.The UN panel isn´t mandated to make explicit policy recommendations.But it does point unmistakably to actions needed: reduce meat consumption, halt deforestation in tropical countries, discourage luxury consumption, slash perverse subsidies, embrace the concept of a low-growth economy.The report will "serve as a basis for redefining our objectives" ahead of a key meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in China in October 2020, said co-author Yunne Jai Shin, a scientist at the Research Institute for Development in Marseilles.

from The News International - Environment http://bit.ly/301HHP5

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