40年で自然の豊かさは半分に 『生きている地球レポート』2014発表

2014年9月30日、WWFは2014年版『生きている地球レポート(Living Planet Report)』を発表しました。これは、失われ続ける自然の豊かさの現状と、世界人口の増加に伴う人類による消費活動の増大が地球上の環境にかけている負荷の大きさを、数値で示したものです。
|
Open Image Modal
Ro-Ma Stock Photography via Getty Images

2014年9月30日、WWFは2014年版『生きている地球レポート(Living Planet Report)』を発表しました。これは、失われ続ける自然の豊かさの現状と、世界人口の増加に伴う人類による消費活動の増大が地球上の環境にかけている負荷の大きさを、数値で示したものです。とりわけ、今回発表されたレポートは、世界の生物多様性がより深刻な危機にさらされている傾向を示すものとなりました。

失われる世界の生物多様性

地球全体の生物多様性の劣化と、その原因である、人類による資源や環境の過剰な利用の現状。

WWFは、これを数値化した、『生きている地球レポート (Living Planet Report)』を2年に一度、ロンドン動物学協会およびグローバル・フットプリント・ネットワークと共同で発表してきました。

このレポートが設けている主な指標は、次の2つです。

  • 1)生きている地球指数(Living Planet Report LPI) :地球上の生物多様性とその豊かさを示す指数
  • 2)エコロジカル・フットプリント:人類が環境や資源を消費することによる、自然界への圧力指数

これを基にレポートでは、それぞれの各国、各地域のデータや傾向、さらに地球全体で起きている環境破壊の規模を示しています。

WWFが2014年9月30日に発表した、その最新版の中では、まず「生きている地球指数」の大幅な悪化が明らかになりました。

「生きている地球指数」は、世界各地の野生生物の個体数の変動を基に計算されています。

今回のレポートでは、さまざまな環境に生息する3,000種以上の脊椎動物のデータを基に、その変動を明らかにしました。

その結果、1970年~2010年までの40年間に、この指数が52%、減少したことが分かりました。

特に、淡水の指数は76%も減少しており、それぞれ39%の減少であった陸上や海洋の指数のほぼ倍近い減少率となっています。

さらに、こうした損失の大半は、中南米を含む、熱帯や亜熱帯の途上国の国々で生じている減少に起因していることも、あらためて確認されました。

Open Image Modal

増大する消費の圧力

生物多様性を脅かしている要因となっているのは、環境に配慮の無い開発などによる、野生生物の生息地の消失と劣化。さらに、過剰な漁業や密猟を含む狩猟などです。

また、化石燃料の消費に起因するとされる気候変動も、地球規模でその影響を及ぼし始めていると考えられています。

こうした、エネルギーや漁業資源、木材・紙などの森林資源の過剰な利用が、地球環境にかけている負荷の大きさを示す「エコロジカル・フットプリント」は、1961年から2010年までの間に倍近くまで増加してきました。

その「エコロジカル・フットプリント」の指数が示す現在の負荷の規模は、地球1個が本来持っている1年間分の生産力を、50%も超過するまでになっています。

これは、今の人類のライフスタイルを維持するためには、地球「1.5個分」に相当する資源が必要である、ということです。

また、エコロジカル・フットプリントの増大は、今ある自然環境を、ただ劣化させるばかりでなく、環境が持つ生産力や、二酸化炭素(CO2)などを吸収する再生能力そのものをも損なう原因になっています。

Open Image Modal

世界の国々の間に生じている「不衡平」

さらに、このエコロジカル・フットプリントは、経済力とモノの消費量が大きな先進国などの国々ほど、高い傾向があります。

レポートは、こうした国々の大きな消費を、貧しい国や地域の自然が持つ生産力が支えている現状も指摘。先進国の暮らしのため、途上国で自然の豊かさが損なわれている、明確な「不衡平」が生じている事実を明らかにしています。

こうした「不衡平」は、世界人口のおよそ4分の1を占める、先進国などの人々が送っている豊かな暮らしを支えるために、残り4分の3の人々が、環境破壊と貧困にさらされている、今の世界の現状にもつながっています。

日本のエコロジカル・フットプリントは世界第42位であり、先進国のなかでは低いものの、それでも世界平均の約1.5倍の水準にあります。

この国土が狭く自然資源の少ない日本の、大きな消費を支えているのは、やはり輸入を通じた海外の自然資源。こうした日本と同じ傾向は、国民一人あたりのエコロジカル・フットプリントが高い中東の産油国などでも見られます。

解決の道は「持続可能な社会」の実現

『生きている地球レポート』が示す、さまざまな危機を解決するために必要なこと。それは、人類の消費がもたらしている環境への負荷を、「地球1個分」の生産力の範囲に抑えることです。

そのためには、生産と消費の一方通行ではなく、それを循環させ、資源を賢明に利用できる「持続可能な社会」を実現してゆかねばなりません。

2014年版の『生きている地球レポート』では、実際にエコロジカル・フットプリントを小さくし、生物多様性の損失を減らすための取り組みを行なっている、コミュニティの例も紹介しています。

たとえば、アジアのいくつかの都市が取り組んでいる、再生可能エネルギーを増やし、二酸化炭素の排出量を減らす革新的な取り組みや、アフリカで地域の豊かな自然を守るために行なわれている、政府と産業界の協働事例などです。

自然環境は、あらゆる生物の生存に欠かせないものであると同時に、人間自身が生きのびていく上の基盤でもあります。世界のどこで暮らしていても、自然の力に由来する食料や、きれいな水、空気が必要であることは変わりがありません。誰もが当事者であるという事実を起点に、不衡平の壁を破り、全ての人にとって有効な解決策を考え、未来を築くこととが今、必要とされています。

WWFはこの『生きている地球レポート』の発表を通じて、各国政府や産業界、市民社会に対し、問題解決に向けた対話と、意思決定を下すことを求めるとともに、「持続可能な社会」の実現をめざす取り組みを続けてゆきます。

関連資料

関連記事

気候変動で失われるかもしれないもの
Wine Tasting Parties(01 of25)
Open Image Modal
Winegrowers in France\'s Champagne region and scientists have already seen changes in the past 25 years, reported The New York Times last year. They have \"noted major changes in their vineyards, including an increased sugar content in the grapes from which they make their wine, with a consequent decrease in acidity, and a harvest time that regularly comes two weeks earlier than it once did.\"\n\nLast year, the Telegraph reported that Bordeaux, one of the world\'s most famous wine-producing regions, may be \"unsuitable for wine-growing by 2050.\" \n\nYale Environment 360 explains that many European wines are tied to a specific geographical area, creating a problem for regions which may soon find themselves most suited to a new kind of grape. \n\nIn the U.S., researchers at Stanford University found that climate change could mean \"50% less land suitable for cultivating premium wine grapes in high-value areas of Northern California.\"\n\nA 2006 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that \"up to 81 percent\" of \"premium-wine-grape production area\" could decline in the U.S. by the end of this century, reported Wired. Without any adaptation measures, wine-grape production could disappear from \"many areas\" of the country.\n\nWired notes, \"By the law of supply and demand, that suggests the best wines of tomorrow will cost even more than the ridiculous amounts they fetch today.\" (credit:Getty)
Winnie The Pooh's Key Plot Point(02 of25)
Open Image Modal
According to the USDA, bee populations are dropping nationwide. Wetter winters and rainy summers make it harder for bees to get out and about to collect, leaving them to starve or become malnourished and more prone to other diseases. This doesn\'t just mean a decline in honey. We rely on bees to pollinate crops. When bees disappear, many food crops could also die off. (credit:Flickr: Ano Lobb. @healthyrx)
Spring Break, Wohoo!(03 of25)
Open Image Modal
As global temperatures rise this century, sea levels are also expected to increase. South Florida may be hit particularly hard.\n\nIf greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, global sea levels could rise over three feet by 2100, with a six foot rise possible. The U.S. Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming notes:\n
This threatens to submerge Florida\'s coastal communities and economies since roughly 9 percent of the state is within 5 feet of the existing sea level. Rising sea level also threatens the beaches, wetlands, and mangrove forests that surround the state.
\n\nUniversity of Florida professor Jack Putz said in 2008, \"People have a hard time accepting that this is happening here,\" reported the Tampa Bay Times. Seeing dead palm trees and other impacts \"brings a global problem right into our own back yard,\" he added.\n\nClick here to see a map showing what different levels of sea level rise would look like for Florida and other states.
(credit:Getty)
Cute Baby Polar Bear Videos(04 of25)
Open Image Modal
A November 2011 study found that polar bear litters are getting smaller as climate change causes sea ice decline. According to World Wildlife Fund, the study \"found that if spring sea ice break-up occurs one month earlier than usual, 40-73 percent of pregnant females could fail to bring cubs to term.\"\n\nThe National Snow and Ice Data Center found that in 2010, Arctic sea ice was at its lowest January level in 30 years.\n\nWith decreased sea ice, polar bears may have greater trouble finding food sources. This could lead to cannibalism, which has already been observed by photographers. Environmental photojournalist Jenny Ross told BBC News in 2011, \"There are increasing numbers of observations of it occurring, particularly on land where polar bears are trapped ashore, completely food-deprived for extended periods of time due to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change.\" (credit:Getty)
PB&Js(05 of25)
Open Image Modal
Thanks to a failing peanut crop due to last summer\'s scorching hot weather, there was a shortage of peanuts in supply at the end of 2011. If temperatures continue to rise, a jump in peanut butter prices is just the prelude to what could be in store for the beloved spread. (credit:Alamy)
Chocolate Cravings(06 of25)
Open Image Modal
A report released by the International Center For Tropical Agriculture warns chocolate could become a luxury item if farmers don\'t adapt to rising temperatures in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where a majority of the world\'s cocoa is grown.\n\nThe October 2011 report, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, \"calls for increased research into heat and drought resistant crops, and to help transition cocoa farming to new regions that will be suitable for production in the future,\" reported ThinkProgress. (credit:Flickr: John Loo)
Not Sneezing(07 of25)
Open Image Modal
Bad news for allergy sufferers -- climate change, and specifically warmer temperatures, may bring more pollen and ragweed, according to a 2011 study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.\n\nAlong with allergies, a changing climate may be tied to more infectious diseases. According to one study, climate change could affect wild bird migratory patterns, increasing the chances for human flu pandemics. Illnesses like Lyme disease could also become more prominent. (credit:Flickr: mcfarlandmo)
Keg Stands(08 of25)
Open Image Modal
Famed for producing some of the world\'s best beer, Germany could suffer from a drop in production due to climate change-induced water shortages. Barley and hops can only be grown with water, and using cheaper alternatives like corn isn\'t possible in Germany because of strict regulations about what you can make beer with.\n\nResearch published earlier this year in the journal Nature Climate Change found that \"unless farmers develop more heat-tolerant corn varieties or gradually move corn production from the United States into Canada, frequent heat waves will cause sharp price spikes,\" reported The New York Times. Price spikes for U.S. corn could affect prices of American macrobrews made with an adjunct ingredient like corn. (credit:Flickr: khawkins04)
Valentine's Day Cliches(09 of25)
Open Image Modal
With higher temperatures expected in northern latitudes in coming decades, the U.K. has begun a program to develop strawberries that will survive in higher temperatures with less water. Since chocolate also may be threatened, could sexy chocolate-covered strawberries, a Valentine\'s Day staple, be endangered?\n\nAccording to The Telegraph, Dr. David Simpson, a scientist with England\'s East Malling Research, said last year, \"Consumer demand for fresh strawberries in the UK has been growing year on year since the early 1990s. The British growers have done a great job of increasing their productivity to satisfy this demand between April and October. The future will be challenging due to the impacts of climate change and the withdrawal of many pesticides but the breeding programme at EMR is using the latest scientific approaches to develop a range of varieties that will meet the needs of our growers for the future.\" (credit:Getty File)
Coffeehouse Snobs(10 of25)
Open Image Modal
Coffee lovers may want to get that caffeine fix before the treasured drink becomes a rare export. Starbucks raised the issue last year when the company\'s director of sustainability told The Guardian that climate change is threatening the supply chain for the Arabica coffee bean.\n\nStarbucks Sustainability Director Jim Hanna told the paper, \"What we are really seeing as a company as we look 10, 20, 30 years down the road - if conditions continue as they are - is a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean.\" (credit:Flickr: Marc_Smith)
Rudolph (And Donner And Blitzen)(11 of25)
Open Image Modal
Reindeer, also known as \"caribou\" in North America, could face a difficult future in a warmer climate. According to U.S. News & World Report, \"Russell Graham, associate professor of geosciences and director of the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum at Penn State University, says global warming will most harm the animals adapted to the coldest environments, primarily those accustomed to life in the Arctic.\"\n\nA 2008 study found that caribou in West Greenland are \"now arriving after peak foraging time, fewer calves are being born and more calves are dying,\" reported ScienceNews. (credit:Flickr: alana sise)
Yummy Pancake Breakfasts(12 of25)
Open Image Modal
It may be a bit harder to drown your pancakes in maple syrup in the future, studies suggest.\n\nAccording to a 2010 Cornell University study, \"maple syrup production in the Northeast is expected to slightly decline by 2100, and the window for tapping trees will move earlier by about a month.\" Additionally, most maple syrup production south of Pennsylvania \"will likely be lost by 2100 due to lack of freezing.\"\n\nClick here to watch one farmer\'s fight to save New Hampshire\'s sugar maples. (credit:ShutterStock)
Gone Fishin'(13 of25)
Open Image Modal
According to a 2002 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Defenders of Wildlife, a warming planet does not bode well for species that thrive in cold streams. The study found that \"global warming is likely to spur the disappearance of trout and salmon from as much as 18 to 38 percent of their current habitat by the year 2090.\"\n\nA 2011 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science produced \"models [which] forecast significant declines in trout habitat across the interior western United States in the 21st century,\" reported The New York Times.\n\nThe study claims, \"The decline will have significant socioeconomic consequences as recreational trout fisheries are valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States alone.\" (credit:Flickr: qmnonic)
NYC's Waterfront Real Estate (14 of25)
Open Image Modal
According to a 2012 report from New Jersey-based nonprofit Climate Central, thousands of New York City residents may be at risk for severe coastal flooding as a result of climate change.\n\nClimate Central explains, \"the NY metro area hosts the nation\'s highest-density populations vulnerable to sea level rise.\" They argue, \"the funnel shape of New York Harbor has the potential to magnify storm surges already supplemented by sea level rise, threatening widespread areas of New York City.\" (credit:Flickr: wuestenigel)
The Best Part Of July 4th(15 of25)
Open Image Modal
With droughts and wildfires hitting many parts of the U.S., municipalities from Colorado to Tennessee canceled July 4th public fireworks displays or banned personal fireworks this year, citing the fire hazards they posed.\n\nIn June, a study published in the journal Ecosphere found that almost all of North America will see more wildfires by 2100, reported Reuters. The study\'s lead author, Max Moritz, said, \"In the long run, we found what most fear - increasing fire activity across large areas of the planet.\" (credit:Getty File)
The Non-.com Amazon(16 of25)
Open Image Modal
Along with deforestation, climate change also poses a serious threat to South America\'s Amazon rainforest.\n\nA 2009 study from the U.K. Met Office found that a global temperature rise of four degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would cause 85 percent of the Amazon to die off in the next 100 years. Even a two degree Celsius rise would kill 20 to 40 percent of the rainforest, reported the Guardian.\n\nIn May, The Club of Rome think tank predicted a global average temperatures rise of \"2 degrees Celsius by 2052 and a 2.8 degree rise by 2080,\" reported Reuters. Jorgen Randers, author of the club\'s report, said, \"It is unlikely that governments will pass necessary regulation to force the markets to allocate more money into climate-friendly solutions, and (we) must not assume that markets will work for the benefit of humankind.\"\n\nHe added, \"We are emitting twice as much greenhouse gases every year as are absorbed by the world\'s forests and oceans. This overshoot will worsen and will peak in 2030.\" (credit:Getty)
Island Getaways(17 of25)
Open Image Modal
As global sea levels rise during the 21st century, low-lying island nations like the Maldives could see their very existence threatened. With a three to six foot sea level rise predicted by 2100, nations like the Maldives could become uninhabitable, explained The New York Times.\n\nMaldives\' former president, Mohamed Nasheed, has been a tireless campaigner for the urgent need for countries to take action against climate change, arguing \"You can\'t pick and choose on science.\" (credit:Flickr: thetravelguru)
Ski Bums(18 of25)
Open Image Modal
Although seasonal fluctuations occur and El Nino/La Nina weather patterns affect snowfall, global temperature rise may impact conditions for skiers and boarders.\n\n\"The long-term trend is less snow and earlier snowmelt. This means more frustration for snow sport enthusiasts and a negative impact on the snow sports industry,\" writes the Natural Resources Defense Council\'s Theo Spencer.\n\nIn May, a snow-less ski race was held in Aspen, Colorado to \"highlight the effect climate change has on the outdoor recreation industry,\" reported the Associated Press. (credit:Flickr: Klearchos Kapoutsis)
Thanksgiving Dinner Food Comas(19 of25)
Open Image Modal
A 2010 paper in the journal Food Research International found that climate change may one day affect the cost and quality of traditional Thanksgiving dishes, reported Discovery News.\n\nFuture temperature rises could impact the quality of turkey meat. Additionally, foods like \"pumpkins, sweet potatoes, potatoes, grains [and] green beans ... will be sensitive to water shortages should they arise,\" study author Neville Gregory told Discovery News.\n\nIn fact, common Thanksgiving foods were impacted by weather events in 2011, with shortages and price spikes hitting over the holidays. (credit:Flickr: ilovebutter)
"Lady & The Tramp"-Like Scenes(20 of25)
Open Image Modal
Scientists at the British Met Office warn that Italy may soon be forced to import the basic ingredients to make pasta because climate change will make it impossible to grow durum wheat domestically. The crop could almost disappear from the country later this century, scientists say. (credit:Flickr: CyboRoZ)
Super Duper Fast Wi-Fi Connection(21 of25)
Open Image Modal
A 2011 report from the U.K.\'s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that climate change could affect certain infrastructure, like wireless internet. The Guardian reports, \"higher temperatures can reduce the range of wireless communications, rainstorms can impact the reliability of the signal, and drier summers and wetter winters may cause greater subsidence, damaging masts and underground cables,\" according to secretary of state for the environment.\n\nThe Guardian notes, \"The government acknowledges that the impact of climate change on telecommunications is not well understood, but the report raises a series of potential risks.\" (credit:Getty)
The Great Smoky Mountains' Smoke(22 of25)
Open Image Modal
The Great Smoky Mountains have the most annual rainfall in the southeastern U.S., which mostly falls as a light, misty rain, explains OurAmazingPlanet.\n\nA study by a team from NASA\'s Precipitation Measurement Missions found that \"light rainfall is the dominant form of precipitation in the region, accounting for 50 to 60 percent of a year\'s total, governing the regional water cycle.\" \n\nOurAmazingPlanet notes: \n
The results suggest the area may be more susceptible to climate change than thought; as temperatures rise, more of the fine droplets from light rain will evaporate in the air and fail to reach the ground. Lower elevations will have to contend with not only higher temperatures, but less cloud cover.
(credit:Flickr: scmikeburton)
California Beach Bums(23 of25)
Open Image Modal
Along the California coast, beach communities are finding that it may be impossible to stop coastal erosion as global sea levels rise. \n\nAccording to AP, David Revell, a senior coastal scientist at ESA PWA, acknowledged the relentless power of the sea, saying, \"I like to think of it as getting out of the way gracefully.\"\n\nA report released in June by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that West Coast ocean levels will rise several inches in the next few decades. Sea levels along the California coast are expected to be six inches higher by 2030 and three feet higher by the end of the century.\n\nDespite the risks, another recent NRDC study found that California is one of several states with the best plans to deal with the effects of climate change. (credit:Flickr: bdearth)
Repeats Of The Titanic(24 of25)
Open Image Modal
2012 could be a record year for the extent of Arctic sea ice at its yearly summer minimum. Walt Meier, a research scientist at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center, said that with recent satellite observations, \"It definitely portends a low-ice year, whether it means it will go below 2007 (the record minimum in September), it is too early to tell,\" reported LiveScience.\n\nAs sea ice declines in the Arctic, countries are anticipating a competition for control of shipping lanes and mineral extraction in the region.\n\nIn Antarctica, research from the United States\' Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula has found that \"87 percent of the peninsula\'s land-bound glaciers are in retreat,\" reported OurAmazingPlanet.\n\nDecreasing sea ice levels were also addressed in a recent spoof of Shell\'s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic this summer. (credit:ARCTICREADY.COM)
Crazy Sugar Highs(25 of25)
Open Image Modal
Climate change has already impacted sugarcane production in Indonesia. \n\nIn late 2011, the chairman of the Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers Association said, \"sugarcane production decreased by up to 30 percent in 2011 due to climate change that has occurred since 2009.\" \n (credit:ShutterStock)