120 Indian signatories to scientists’ ecology warning

120 Indian signatories to scientists’ ecology warning

Context:

• More than 120 Indian scientists are among the 15,364 scientists from 184 countries to endorse the second warning that the world’s scientists have issued to humanity.
• They say that if the current unsustainable ways of living is not mended, it could augur “widespread misery” and “catastrophic biodiversity loss”

Explanation:

• Following up on nine environmental issues, identified by these scientists, a compiled current data on them goes on to say:
• Decline in freshwater availability and the catch in global marine fisheries.
• Biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming pace: between 1970 and 2012, the world’s vertebrate populations declined by 58%.
• Forest loss has been tabled at 129 million hectares between 1990 and 2015, and both human and livestock populations have increased.

What are the recommendations made by the scientists?

• Recommendations to transition to sustainability include:
• halting conversion of natural habitats such as forests and grasslands,
• reducing food waste through education and better infrastructure,
• promoting new green technologies, and
• revising economies to reduce inequalities in wealth.
• There is a need for both immediate and long-term solutions.
• It is critical to limit further habitat loss and the expansion of new roads, mines and mega-projects into the last wild places.
• There is also a need to enlist the help and engagement of local communities wherever possible Indian scientists, from.
• Societies need to take into account evidence-based inputs from the scientific community.
• Evidence-based inputs are issues that are critical to address, especially in a developing country like India.