<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/14/richest-nations-exporting-extinction-with-demand-for-beef-palm-oil-and-timber-aoe>
"The world’s wealthiest nations are “exporting extinction” by destroying 15
times more biodiversity internationally than within their own borders, research
shows.
Most wildlife habitats are being destroyed in countries with tropical forest,
according to the study which looked at how wealthy countries’ demand for
products such as beef, palm oil, timber and soya beans is destroying
biodiversity hotspots elsewhere.
It found that high-income nations were responsible for 13% of global loss of
forest habitats outside their own borders. The US alone was responsible for 3%
of the world’s non-US forest habitat destruction.
“That just underscores the magnitude of the process,” said lead researcher Alex
Wiebe, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton
University in the US. Countries that had the most significant impacts abroad
included the US, Germany, France, Japan, China and the UK, according to the
paper, published in
Nature.
Globally, habitat loss is the biggest threat to most species and about 90% is
caused by conversion of wild habitats to agricultural land.
“By importing food and timber, these developed nations are essentially
exporting extinction,” said Prof David Wilcove, co-author of the study from
Princeton University. “Global trade spreads out the environmental impacts of
human consumption, in this case prompting the more developed nations to get
their food from poorer, more biodiverse nations in the tropics, resulting in
the loss of more species.”"
See also:
Global biodiversity loss from outsourced deforestation
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08569-5.epdf
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
