Experts warn that over the last 50 years, the average size of monitored populations of wild species has decreased by 73 percent. Therefore, according to them, the next five years will be crucial for our future.
We are eating it up and stealing it at such a rate that we have less than a third of the living planet left. “In just 50 years of my life, we have seen a 73 percent decline in wild animal populations,” says Dr. Robin Freeman of the Zoological Society of London. – This is a dramatic number that prompts immediate action because it means that our planet is at risk – emphasizes Carlos Mauricio Herrera from WWF Colombia.
It took humans only half a century to exterminate animals and plants like this, and they are maintaining the pace of destruction, says this year's WWF report. Example: the Amazon jungle… – Amazon forests the size of two football pitches are disappearing within a minute – warns Agnieszka Veljković from WWF Polska.
The greatest devastation of nature is taking place in South America. Europe is doing better, but there is no consolation that the Amazon is far away, because what is happening there translates into the climate, weather phenomena, and, for example, the risk of floods. Secondly, only 20 percent of Polish habitats are doing well – the rest are not.
– Peat bogs are the most endangered and require immediate protection. They have quite a bad reputation, we often call them mud or swamps, so it has a bad association. However, they are really important – emphasizes Magdalena Zadrąg from WWF Polska. Peat bogs absorb carbon dioxide and store water.
Flash flood in Zamość, storms in Lesser Poland. Climate change is increasing such phenomenaKatarzyna Górniak/Fakty TVN
Appeal to the Prime Minister
As scientists from WWF say – we only have five years to change our approach to nutrition and reduce meat production. If we don't take care of plants and animals now, we will lose control. – The more forests in the mountains, the less floods in the valleys. As you can see, the condition of forests in Poland has recently been terrible and we need to take care of it. We must take care of very rare species of wolves, lynxes and bears – emphasizes Radosław Ślusarczyk from the Association “Pracownia na Wszystkich Stoty” and the State Council for Nature Protection.
Meanwhile, no new national park has been established in Poland for over 20 years, and Poland, for example, votes in the EU to lower the protection status of the wolf. So WWF sends a petition to the Prime Minister to expand protected areas. – We heard a lot of beautiful words about nature protection during the campaign. Almost a year has passed since the elections and the government has done nothing, notes Agnieszka Veljković.
The Minister of Climate and Environment says that she has established a group that is working on a plan for the reconstruction of natural resources, and projects to expand the parks are almost ready. – We are working on a new park in the Lower Oder Valley, we are working on expanding, for example, the Karkonosze Mountains. Most parks in Poland have projects to expand their territories – assures Paulina Hennig-Kloska.
The upcoming Polish presidency of the European Union is an opportunity for us to fight more actively for the protection of nature, the one that we have not yet destroyed.
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