Irish Examiner view: We must find the inspiration to prevent mass extinction

We have to wonder what will finally galvanise us into action to address the alarming number of species under threat

Older readers will recall why the World Wildlife Fund chose a panda for its logo back in the 1960s. Half a century on, we learn that half of the planet's species are under threat.  Picture: Bernard De Wetter/WWF-Canon/PA

Another missive from the end times landed in recent days with the publication of new research in the journal Biological Reviews.

As reported yesterday in the 'Irish Examiner', scientists have found that almost half of the species on Earth for which assessments are available are currently declining in numbers. 

As if this were not bad enough, the threat of extinction is far more widespread than was previously believed — many of the species which were thought not to be threatened by extinction are progressively declining as well.

In real terms that means a staggering 42,000 species are on the red list of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while 33% of species currently considered “safe” by the IUCN conservation categories are in fact declining towards the risk of extinction.

This is such an astonishing range of threatened species that it is almost impossible to comprehend. Older readers may recall the reason the World Wildlife Fund chose a panda for its logo back in the 1960s — the organisation felt the creature made such an instantly recognisable symbol that it transcended language and communicated their mission, which was to sustain the natural world for the benefit of people and wildlife.

That now looks like the height of naivety, the presumption that people would be affected by the sight of an animal under the threat of extinction, but it also illustrates the scale of today’s problem. What kind of symbol or logo could possibly do justice to our current state of crisis, where half of all species on the planet are in decline, and inspire change?

The prospect of decisive, wide-ranging action which would help to reverse that decline seems remote, but cursing the darkness is no replacement for striking a match. That same research points to the global diversity framework adopted at the UN Cop15 summit last December in Canada, and such initiatives must be supported and implemented as a matter of urgency.

If not, then we are entering a phase of mutually-assured extinction.