A million species at immediate risk of extinction. Should we all panic about the IPBES Global Assessment report?
During the recent federal election campaign, a new landmark report on the state of global biodiversity was released, but went largely unnoticed in the Australian media. The recent IPBES Global Assessment paints a grim picture of current and anticipated loss in biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is the most comprehensive report of its kind ever completed, and finds that around 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades, more than ever before in human history.
Prof Brendan Wintle has led an IPBES Assessment of Biodiversity models and scenarios. In this seminar he overviewed the IPBES Global Assessment findings, the approaches used to reach them, and how Australia is faring in terms of biodiversity loss. In a bold attempt to be optimistic, Prof Wintle discussed what it will take to stem the wave of Australian extinctions.
This was the first in a MSSI seminar series focusing on biodiversity.
Brendan Wintle is Professor in Conservation Ecology in the Biosciences School at the University of Melbourne and Director of the National Threatened Species Recovery Research Hub. He was coordinating lead author of IPBES Methodological Assessment of Models and Scenarios. He publishes on technical and policy issues around biodiversity conservation and natural resource management, including optimal conservation investment, monitoring and adaptive management, systematic conservation planning, population viability analysis, and habitat modelling and mapping.