外刊阅读20240811｜可能是最简单的一种动保方式

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Protecting just 1.2% of the Earth’s surface for nature would be enough to prevent the extinction of the world’s most threatened species, according to a new study. Analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Science has found that the targeted expansion of protected areas on land would be enough to prevent the loss of thousands of the mammals , birds, amphibians and plants that are closest to disappearing.

From Argentina to Papua New Guinea, the team of researchers identified 16,825 sites that should be prioritised for conservation in the next five years to prevent imminent extinctions of animals and plants found nowhere else. Dr Eric Dinerstein, of the environmental organisation Resolve and lead author of the study, said the team were trying to identify the world’s rarest species with limited habitats, using the example of the peyote cactus , whose remaining range may be limited to small parts of the Chihuahuan desert in North America.

This study is focused on how imminent extinctions can be averted , not on everything that would be needed to restore nature on Earth. Scientists say that more than expanding protected areas is needed to prevent the destruction of biodiversity and maintain ecosystems crucial to human societies. In 2020, the researchers identified half of the Earth’s land surface that, if protected, would reverse biodiversity loss and enhance natural carbon removal .

Of the sites identified, which the authors called “conservation imperatives ”, 38% are within one and a half miles (2.5km) of an existing protected area, indicating that they could be potential quick wins. The Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar and Colombia were together home to more than half of the sites.